Cowboys and Gauchos Roaming the Plains:

An Inter-American Comparison

Diplomarbeit

zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades

eines Magisters der Philosophie

an der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz

vorgelegt von
Stefan WONISCH

am Institut für Amerikanistik

Begutachterin: Ao. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. phil. Roberta Maierhofer, M.A.

Graz, 2019
 AUTHOR’S DECLARATION

Unless otherwise indicated in the text or references, or acknowledged above, this thesis is
entirely the product of my own scholarly work. Any inaccuracies of fact or faults in reasoning
are my own and accordingly I take full responsibility. This thesis has not been submitted either
in whole or part, for a degree at this or any other university or institution. This is to certify that
the printed version is equivalent to the submitted electronic one.

2
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my deep gratitude to Professor Roberta Maierhofer for mentoring me,
for her help and for her time.

I also would like to thank my parents, my brother and my sister, and my grandmothers for
supporting me throughout the time I wrote my diploma thesis.

I also want to thank my friends for supporting and encouraging me.

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 Table of Contents

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………. 5

1. The American Herdsmen: The Cowboy, the Gaucho, and their Representation in
Culture and Literature …………………………………………….………………... 7

1.1. Origins and Evolution of the American Herdsman ……………………………… 8

1.2. The North American Cowboy as a Popular Icon …………………...…………… 9
1.3. The Argentinian Gaucho as a Symbol of National Identity …………………...… 13

2. Masculinity in Cowboy and Gaucho Culture and Literature ……………………… 17

3. The Bildungsroman Genre ……………………………...…………………………… 22

4. All the Pretty Horses ……………………………...…………………………………… 27

4.1. The Representation of Cowboys in All the Pretty Horses ………………………. 30

4.2. Negotiating Masculinity in All the Pretty Horses ………………………………. 36
4.3. Coming of Age: Reading All the Pretty Horses as a Bildungsroman …………… 49

5. Don Segundo Sombra …………………………….…………………………………… 58

5.1. The Representation of Gauchos in Don Segundo Sombra …………………….… 61

5.2. Masculinity in Don Segundo Sombra……………....................…………………. 69
5.3. Coming of Age: Reading Don Segundo Sombra as a Bildungsroman …………... 77

Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………… 89

Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………. 94

4
Introduction

When dealing with America, its history and its culture, there is a high likelihood that one will
come across one of its most important and original trademarks – the herdsman. The cowboy
has enjoyed international recognition ever since his rise in American literature and is still
popular today. The gaucho, in contrast, belongs to the larger number of herdsmen in North and
South America whose popularity remains at a national level. Nevertheless, both the cowboy
and the gaucho played an important role when it comes to shaping American culture as we
know it. Even though their herdsmen existence has come to an end, they keep roaming the
plains in our minds. The focus of this diploma thesis lies on the cowboys and gauchos and their
portrayal in the two novels All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy and Don Segundo
Sombra by Ricardo Güiraldes. Although All the Pretty Horses also deals with the Mexican
vaquero, I decided to leave the Mexican herdsman out of my analysis of the two novels and
will just occasionally mention him with reference to the cowboy.

My principal motivation behind writing this diploma thesis was the focus of my two studies.
As my teacher education is focused on the English and Spanish languages at the Karl Franzens
University, Graz, I was particularly interested in looking at a topic that concerns both the
Hispanic and the Anglophone worlds. Reading All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy I
came across the topic of the North American cowboys and decided to look for a novel that
serves as a South American counterpart to McCarthy’s novel and that portrays the gauchos.
Being one of the most important works in Argentinian literature I chose Güiraldes’s Don
Segundo Sombra. While focusing on the two novels what particularly aroused my interest was
in which ways the cowboys and the gauchos compare to each other. Since the cowboy and the
gaucho are representative of the North and South American worlds, respectively, an Inter-
American perspective on these two characters became the framework for my diploma thesis.

This Inter-American perspective on the two novels offers the opportunity to focus on one aspect
that concerns both American hemispheres and that is dealt with by two literatures of the
Americas, namely by the U.S. American and Latin American literatures. Since the herdsman
has had an important impact on both North and South America as far as their histories, cultures
and literatures are concerned, and, therefore, can be regarded a symbol of Americanness he
perfectly serves for such an Inter-American comparison.

Comparing All the Pretty Horses and Don Segundo Sombra I picked out three aspects for my
analysis of the two novels, the first one focusing on the representation of the herdsmen in

5
Güiraldes’s and McCarthy’s works. The second aspect deals with masculinity and masculine
identity as represented in the two novels and the third aspect concerns the classification of the
two novels as Bildungsromane. In focusing on these aspects, the following questions arose,
which I tried to answer in my diploma thesis: how are the herdsmen represented and does
literary idealization play a role in their representation? How do the protagonists claim a
masculine identity? What characteristics of the Bildungsroman do the novels have and do they
follow the guidelines of the European Bildungsroman model?

For the analysis I extracted these three aspects from the novels and compared them with respect
to both All the Pretty Horses and Don Segundo Sombra. In this comparative analysis I examined
the similarities and differences between the two works and could find interesting results.

6
1. The American Herdsmen: The Cowboy, the Gaucho, and their
Representation in Culture and Literature

The cowboy and his roaming about in the Wild West have been associated with freedom,
bravery and virtuousness ever since his appearance in literature, film and art. Most people, when
thinking about cowboys and the cowboy tradition, immediately recall the various Western
movies and novels, such as the Karl-May film adaptions, and famous Hollywood cowboys such
as John Wayne. Although Western movies per se have largely disappeared from screens in the
21st century, the cowboy figure – with respect to its literary representation – has undeniably left
a mark in people’s consciousness. However, it is important to point out that the idea of the
cowboy and his lifestyle, as promoted through mainstream culture and literature, is a
romanticized version of reality. It can be said that this idealized depiction of a lasso-throwing
hero does not necessarily provide insight into the long history and tradition of the horsemen of
the Americas. Furthermore, we must not forget that the concept of the cowman is not unique to
the United States and the Wild West. There are also various counterparts to the cowboy who
share his history and evolution, such as the gauchos of Argentina, “the huasos of Chile, the
gaúchos of Brazil, the vaqueros of Mexico, the morochucos of Bolivia, the chalanes of Peru,
the llaneros of Venezuela and Colombia” (Tinker 1962: 191). Tinker (ibid.: 191) refers to them
as “brothers under the skin” and emphasizes that “no groups could be more alike than the
horsemen of the New World”. However, while the cowboy has become an object of
international recognition, his Latin American fellows have faded into the background with
respect to international popularity. Now leaving aside the literary component, it must be
emphasized that the American herdsmen, not only in reference to the cowboys, have
considerably influenced not only the culture, but also the economy and national awareness on
both continents. Furthermore, they undeniably played an important role in the history of the
Americas and helped shaping the North- and South American worlds as we find them today.
The aim of this chapter is to give an insight into the origins and evolution of the American
herdsman, as well as to provide information about the cowboy, the vaquero and the gaucho. In
addition, this chapter will focus on the literary idealization of the cowboy and the gaucho in
order to provide a basis for my analysis of the representation of these two herdsmen in the
novels All the Pretty Horses and Don Segundo Sombra.

7
 1.1. Origins and Evolution of the American Herdsman

Let us now take a closer look at the North and South American herdsmen and their function
from a historical point of view. Despite their frequent epic and adventurous depiction in
literature, cowboys, gauchos and their like-minded fellows in the other countries of the
Americas were originally simple herdsmen, cattle drivers and rural workers. Their main duties
did not include being horse-riding heroes and roaming the plains as free, independent spirits,
but mostly comprised hard work, driving cattle over large distances and being loyal to their
masters. The American herdsman’s origins date back to as early as the colonialization of the
New World and the formation of the Latin American territories under Spanish rule. However,
before retracing the history of the herdsman, we must focus on the animals that led to his
emergence as an indispensable part of American history. After Christopher Columbus’ arrival
in what was later to become America in 1494, European cattle and horses got introduced to the
new continent by transporting them on ships from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean (cf. Slatta
2006: 32). According to Dary (1982: 4-5) these “creatures […] were destined to change the face
of the New World and bring about a revolution comparable in impact to that of the Industrial
Revolution nearly three centuries later.” Although initially many animals died on the long and
exhausting sea travels, the Spaniards finally managed to breed them in the new settlements and
the number of cattle soon multiplied, resulting in free-roaming cattle that “became wild” (cf.
ibid.: 5). Besides the fact that cattle were generally viewed as a person’s capital until about
1500, the reasons that the practice of cattle breeding was so valued in the New World was due
to the meat the animals provided, as well as hides and tallow (cf. ibid.: 5, 8). In the foreword of
Tinker’s book McGann points out that cattle ranching was highly valued as it generally meant
having “dominion over the largest extents of land” (Tinker 1967: n.p.). Due to the rapidly
growing number of cattle during the 16th century rustling became a serious problem for the
Spaniards and their livestock. However, since the Spaniards were not willing to watch and herd
their own cattle, they made the non-Spaniards, manly the Natives and the African-American,
carry out all the necessary work. These circumstances led to the emergence of the vaquero, the
Latin American herdsman, who also developed from the Spanish caballero1 (cf. Dary 1982: 13;
cf. Stacy, ed. 2003: 233). The vaquero’s duties were, among others, driving cattle from one
place to another, rounding up cattle and branding calves. (cf. Dary 1982: 18,23). His equipment
included most of the elements we nowadays associate with the cowboy – horses, the lasso, or

1
Caballeros (caballo is Spanish for ‘horse’) were horsemen and herdsmen in Andalusia, Spain. They generally
had a better reputation and social status than their descendants, the vaqueros (cf. Stacy, ed. 2003: 233).
8
lazo in Spanish, the lariat2, the spurs, the saddle, and other instruments (cf. ibid.: 14,31,35).
Dary (1982: 13) explains that “the early vaquero was not a very romantic figure”. He proceeds
to say that “Spaniards and Mexicans have never viewed him as Americans north of the Rio
Grande later viewed the traditional cowboy”. The vaquero “was about as far down in the social
order as one could get” (Dary 1982: 13). He worked and lived on haciendas3 and his profession
was passed on from generation to generation (cf. ibid.: 27). Nevertheless, despite his low social
status the vaquero had become indispensable for the cattle business by the end of the 16 th
century (cf. ibid.: 26). Today vaqueros can still be found in Mexico, especially in the North of
the country. However, their work and duties have changed due to modern ranching techniques
and instead of roaming about and driving cattle on the Mexican plains, their existence is now
bound to the haciendas which they work at (cf. Dary 1982.: 27). Dary (ibid.: 27) argues that the
haciendas might soon disappear, as well, since “most such ranches have been reduced in size,
the land redistributed by the Mexican government, and modern ranching methods and
techniques have been introduced”.

1.2. The North American Cowboy as a Popular Icon

It is important to point out that the cowboy was not born in the south and southwest of the
United States. Tinker (1967: n.p.) explains that “the North American cowboy owed everything
to Spain, not only the tools and techniques of his trade, but the very economic necessity that
brought him into being”. As cattle raising in New Spain’s northern territories, such as in what
today are known as Arizona, New Mexico, California and Texas, in the 16th century did not
flourish the same way it did in the southern regions and there was a lack of people to carry out
the respective work, the Spaniards conducted missions in these territories. These missions,
which primarily served the purpose to convert Natives to the Christian faith, were also expected
to make the new converts loyal servants of the crown. Consequently, as aforementioned, these
Natives and mestizos would become vaqueros working on the haciendas established by the
Spaniards (cf. Dary 1982: 35). As far as the cattle and the horses, which were crucial for the
Spaniards’ intentions, are concerned, they had already been introduced to the Northern
territories by explorers such as DeSoto and Cortez ever since the 16th century (cf. Tinker 1967:
n.p.). According to Tinker (1967: n.p.) “the Jesuits and explorers […] spread the descendants

2
“a long light rope (as of hemp or leather) used with a running noose to catch livestock or with or without the
noose to tether grazing animals” (www.merriam-webster.com, online) [2019, April 18]
3
Spanish word to refer to the large ranches in Latin and South America
9
of these animals until wild cattle and feral horses teemed on the great prairies north of the Río
Grande […]”. After Mexico became independent from New Spain in 1821, several North
Americans came to these regions and equally stocked wild cattle in their own ranches they had
established there (cf. Tinker 1967: n.p.). With the annexation of Texas and other previously
Mexican owned territories in the United States, the animals as well as the Mexican methods of
cattle ranching fell into the hands of the Anglo-Saxons (cf. Rünzler 1995: 117). This meant that
there was also an increased need for someone to watch and herd their livestock, there was again
a need for herdsmen (cf. Tinker 1967: n.p.). According to Rünzler (cf. 1995: 117) the men that
were herding cattle in this area were the first real American cowboys. These men, however, had
to learn everything they needed to know from the Mexican vaquero, for instance how to ride
herds, break feral horses and work with a herdsman’s equipment (cf. ibid: n.p.). From the 1850s
onward cattle ranching became more and more economically relevant in the south and
southwest of the United States and was once again propelled after the Civil War (cf. Rünzler
1995: 118-119). Consequently, driving cattle across large distances became an economic
necessity. The cowboy was a rising figure in the light of all these changes. He was entrusted
with large herds of animals which he had to drive from one place to another. On an average day
he had to “ride the range, inspect the cattle, rope and doctor the calves for screw-worm, […]
turn back the stock that had drifted too far away, and take care of a dozen other chores” (Tinker
1967: n.p.). Cowboys worked in groups and were also particularly busy during the spring and
fall round-ups, in which they rode out, rounded up feral cattle and branded the calves. There
were several dangers a cowboy was faced with, such as stampedes provoked by Natives and
cattle rustlers, cyclones and dangerous rivers they had to cross (cf. ibid.: n.p.). However, he was
usually very skilled and knew all the tricks to survive life-threatening situations. Loyalty,
bravery and team spirit were the cowboy’s virtues, as we can see in the following quote in
which Tinker describes a cowboy’s qualities:

In addition to his courage, he had two admirable virtues; he never deserted a companion in danger, nor
was disloyal to his employer, even though in his relations with his boss there was never any trace of
subservience. His talk was salty and vivid, his sense of humor keen. For forty dollars a month, board,
and lodging, he was ready to work the clock around, and risk his life as often as necessary. His fare was
plain but nourishing, and he washed it down with many cups of black coffee. (ibid.: n.p.)

The cowboy experienced his heyday along with the cattle ranching business in the United
States. However, the big cattle ranching boom did not last long and ended only a few decades
after it had started, in the 1890s, when small farmers took over and fenced the “free public lands
where ranchers had pastured their herds without expense” (Tinker 1967: n.p.). Furthermore,

10
cattle drives became obsolete with the introduction of the railroad in the southwest or were no
longer possible due to the fencing of the Plains. Consequently, the cowboys’ work and duties
changed. Sharing the fate of the vaquero, instead of roaming the plains and driving cattle over
large distances he gradually turned into a resident herdsman (cf. Rünzler 1995: 122/ Tinker
1967: n.p.). Towards the end of the 19th century the cowboy in his original function was fading.
According to Tinker (1967: n.p.) “the changed conditions have metamorphosed the cowboy
into a farm hand […]”. Other than today’s version of the rodeo in which the cowboy is still
celebrated and the ‘cowboy attitude’ that many farmers in the south and southwest of the U.S.
have kept, what remains of the cowboy is his romanticized and idealized depiction in
mainstream culture and literature.

Despite the cowboy’s disappearance at the beginning of the 20th century, he has remained alive
in books, movies, advertisements and, above all, in our consciousness. In fact, the cowboy has
become a symbolic figure of bravery, adventurousness, virtuousness and righteousness in our
ideals. Whenever we think about cowboys, associations, such as horses, heroes, freedom,
fighting evil, etc. come to mind. Other common associations are “[…] Indians, gunslingers, and
sheriffs involved in gunfights, cattle drives and wagon trains” (Agnew 2015: 5). Ever since the
19th century the cowboy has featured as the leading character of numerous Western novels and
movies which all have something in common – they are based on a myth. According to Agnew
(ibid.: 5) “the story of the Western Frontier is the oldest, most characteristic, and longest-lived
of all American myths.” The tales about cowboys that are relayed via books, magazines and
movies rarely represent the reality and offer a romanticized and idealized version of the truth
(cf. ibid.: 7). Agnew (cf. 2015: 7) points out that “by the end of the nineteenth century the
popular Western story had achieved a form where the historic West served as a springboard for
extravagant and fantastical tales of adventure far removed from historical reality.” He goes on
to say that “historical events were changed to suit the story”. Taking a closer look at the plots
of typical Western stories we find cowboys as heroes that fight villains (often Natives), rescue
women, engage in gunfights and restore peace (cf. ibid.: 5). It is important to point out that
these images do not represent the real cowboy who was a hard-working farmhand that went on
cattle drives and round ups. Although cattle drives have been used as a theme in Western stories,
this has mainly been the case because “rip-roaring cattle towns provided a location where
lawless behavior could be acted out […]” (ibid.: 16). The real cowboy was not necessarily
heroic, nor did he fight villains, he was a herdsman devoted to his work. Agnew (2015: 84, 86)
refers to the real cowboy as follows:

11
 Cowboys on ranches rounded up and branded cattle, gathered hay, mended fences, and performed the
other monotonous chores that kept a cattle ranch running. They were generally overworked, underfed,
and poorly paid. […] Being a real cowboy was hard and boring and involved monotonous work. (Agnew
2015: 84, 86).

As far as the cowboys’ gunplay in movies is concerned, for example, Agnew (cf. 2015: 86)
mentions that real cowboys “were typically not good gunmen” since “they did not have the time
or money for ammunition to continually practice their skills in order to become expert shots.”
Although certain elements of the real cowboy, such as the horse and the roaming about in the
prairies, have been adopted into Western novels and movies, there are still many deviations
from reality. Furthermore, the Wild West as depicted in Western stories does not actually
compare with the real West. When it comes to the real West, Agnew (ibid.: 8-9) refers to its
location as follows:

In the beginning, all of America was some vague frontier to the west of the East Coast. The land of the
West was perceived as a vast uncharted territory of lawlessness that Easterners were not familiar with,
but envied. ‘The frontier’ then moved across the West at the forefront of a wave of civilizing influences.
Early tales placed the Western frontier at the Allegheny Mountains, and only later in the American West
and Southwest. […] in 1803, the West became the land beyond the Mississippi.

Furthermore, Agnew (ibid.: 10) describes the real West as a place “conquered by settlers and
exploiters who came for farming, cattle, timber, trapping, and prospecting” where “the Native
Americans were beaten into submission and removed through a series of wars”. He also
explains that this image was nothing that Western authors wanted to include in their works (cf.
ibid.: 10). Hollywood immensely contributed to the idealization of the image of the cowboy
and the Wild West. According to Agnew (ibid.: 10) “movies have become the vision of Western
history for many Americans, in spite of the fact that few of these films are historically accurate”.
Despite its missing historic authenticity “the Hollywood Western is a national myth, a global
icon, and cornerstone of American identity” (ibid.: 11). When it comes to written literature, the
situation regarding the historic authenticity is basically the same. Although there have been
novels that focus on real-life westerners, such as Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett, there is a
considerable number of Western novels that offer an idealized version of the truth (cf. ibid.:
21). Owen Wister’s The Virginian is considered to be the first popular and successful American
cowboy novel (cf. Rünzler 1995: 157). According to Rünzler (cf. ibid.: 159) The Virginian
represents a turning point as far as serious Western literature is concerned. One perfect example
of written literature that spread the image of the romanticized cowboy hero are the Dime
Novels. They were “inexpensively produced mass-market fiction paperbacks that appeared

12
from about 1860 to 1910 from multiple publishing houses” and comprised about 100 pages
(Agnew 2015: 30). In these Dime Novels the cowboy completely lost his original function as a
herdsman and was solely portrayed as being heroic (cf. ibid.: 30). Apart from these examples,
literature dealing with cowboys is numerous. There is an uncountable number of written works
and movies that focus on the cowboy figure, many of which do so by idealizing and
romanticizing him. Other ways in which the cowboy is still immortalized and remains an
important symbol in popular culture today are, for example, advertisements, singers and their
songs and in the sport of rodeo. (cf. ibid.: 204-209).

1.3. The Argentinian Gaucho as a Symbol of National Identity

The North American cowboy and the Argentinian gaucho share one relevant feature when it
comes to their emergence – both descended from the Spanish herdsman, the Spanish vaquero
(cf. Nichols 1941: 421). Akin to the Mexican vaquero, the gaucho was a mestizo who benefitted
from the free-roaming wild cattle on the pampas4 spread by the Spanish conquistadores5 (cf.
Tinker 1967: n.p.). Emerging in Argentina from 1750 to 1775, the gaucho, who before this time
was still called vaquero and lived the life of the Spanish vaquero, “made a business of hunting
wild cattle for their hides and tallow or of driving them to estancias to be marked and gentled”
(Tinker 1967: n.p.; cf. Nichols 1937: 533). Breaking horses for hacenderos6 and participating
in cattle hunting expeditions were also parts of his work (cf. Nichols 1936: 66). Nevertheless,
Nichols (cf. 1937: 534) points out that the gaucho was not necessarily a herdsman, but rather a
hunter who was out for the hides of wild cows or horses. His equipment included the facón7,
the poncho8, the boleadoras9, spurs, and, of course, the horse (cf. Tinker 1967: n.p.). According
to Nichols (cf. 1936: 67) three things were particularly important to the gaucho, which were his
lady, his country and his horse, the latter being the most valuable to him. In his free time the
gaucho, for example, hunted the American rhea, gambled at horse races, went to pulperías10

4
“an extensive generally grass-covered plain of temperate South America east of the Andes: prairie”
(www.merriam-webster.com, online) [2019, June 28]
5
“one that conquers; specifically : a leader in the Spanish conquest of America […] (www.merriam-
webster.com, online) [2019, June 16]
6
= hacendado: “the owner or proprietor of a hacienda” (www.merriam-webster.com, online) [2019, Apr. 18]
7
“a large heavy belt knife carried by South American gauchos” (www.merriam-webster.com, online) [2019,
Apr. 18]
8
“a blanket with a slit in the middle so that it can be slipped over the head and worn as a sleeveless garment”
(www.merriam-webster.com, online) [2019, Apr. 18]
9
“a rope with weights attached, used especially in South America to catch cattle or game by entangling their
legs” (https://www.thefreedictionary.com) [2019, Apr. 18]
10
“a Spanish American rural grocery store often functioning also as a drinking establishment” (www.merriam-
webster.com, online) [2019, Apr. 18]
13
where he might get into a facón fight, bet on cockfights and engaged in dancing and drinking
(Tinker 1967: n.p.). Many gauchos would also entertain with their songs and ballads and take
part in so-called payadas, a contest in which two singers competed against each other. (c.f.
ibid.: n.p.). According to Nichols (cf. 1941: 421-422) unlike the vaquero, the original gaucho
was considered an outlaw, since he engaged in contraband trade and illegal business. Nichols
even refers to him as a “rebel against society” (ibid.: 423). Only when laws were enforced was
the gaucho forced into legitimate work and gradually became the honest, hard-working Spanish
vaquero he evolved from (cf. ibid.: 422-423). The original gaucho was looked down upon by
the rest of the population in his day. Tinker (1967: n.p.) comments that the gaucho’s “dirt,
ignorance, and mixed blood, his wasteful slaughter of other people’s livestock, and the
callousness with which he abducted a girl or slit an enemy’s throat, combined, in the early days,
to make him a despised figure”. He achieved his status as a respectable member of the society
only after demonstrating his skills in war (cf. Nichols 1941: 423). In fact, despite his
questionable nature, the gaucho contributed immensely to the welfare and independence of his
country, since being patriotic he was willing to protect it by fighting foreigners no matter what
(cf. Nichols 1936: 67-68). According to Tinker (1967: n.p.) “this patriotism, though blind,
tinged the despised cattleman and Indian fighter with romance and transformed him into a
national hero”. In addition to his militant contributions it must not be forgotten that the gaucho
also helped shape “a huge cattle empire” (ibid.: n.p.). However, the gaucho was not spared from
the economic and political changes in his country. Due to the modernization of the country
brought along by Argentina’s liberal elite the gaucho suffered a considerable loss as far as his
work and freedom are concerned (cf. Slatta 1992: 6). “New technology” and a “rural economy
with sheep and agriculture” became a threat to his work and existence (Slatta 1992: 6).
Furthermore, the arrival of millions of immigrants in Argentina also had an impact on the fading
of the gaucho existence (cf. Slatta 1992: 6). Sharing a similar fate to that of the Mexican vaquero
and the North American cowboy, he was forced to become a farm worker on an estancia
because of “the termination of the pampas wars, and the changing character of the cattle
industry due to the railroad and the barbed-wire fence” (Trifilo 1964: 402-403). According to
Nichols (cf. 1937: 536) the end of the gaucho’s existence came about around 1875. Trifilo
(ibid.: 403) points out that “the gaucho of today working on the pampas of Argentina is no more
a real gaucho than is our own present-day cowboy the cowboy of the Wild West”.

When it comes to the gaucho’s representation in literature, he has experienced the same fate as
the cowboy. Being one of the most important literary themes in Argentinian literature, his image
has been idealized and romanticized in various poems, novels and other literary genres and
14
deviates from the real, historical gaucho (cf. Trifilo 1964: 395), however, to his favor. It is
important to highlight that literature contributed to the revaluation of the gaucho’s reputation
among the Argentinian population. Nichols (1941: 423) explains that apart from his
achievements in war, “the gaucho owed the regeneration of his name to the advertising he
received in literature.” Popular literary works, such as Martín Fierro, helped promote the
gaucho as a “symbol of independence and of a triumphant nationality” (ibid.: 423-424). Being
ascribed qualities such as courage, independence and daring, the literary gaucho inspired many
writers and has mesmerized numerous readers (cf. ibid.: 423; cf. Trifilo 1964: 395). As Tinker
(cf. 1967: n.p.) indicates the gaucho has been dealt with in verse and prose, as well as on stage.
When it comes to gaucho poetry, the most important work is undeniably José Hernández’s
Martín Fierro, a poem about a gaucho of the same name (cf. ibid.: n.p.). Tinker (ibid.: n.p.)
points out that with this work, which “sold more copies than any other Latin American book”,
Hernández “created […] a national figure and an indigenous epic.” Other noteworthy poems on
gauchos are Estanislao del Campo’s Fausto and Rafael Obligado’s Santos Vega (cf. ibid.: n.p.).
After the rise of the poeta gauchesca the gaucho also became a relevant theme in novels (cf.
ibid.: n.p.). Important novels are, among others, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento’s Facundo,
Eduardo Gutiérrez’s Juan Moreira, and, of course, Ricardo Güiraldes’s Don Segundo Sombra
(cf. ibid. n.p.). Common topics in gaucho literature were people’s folklore, love, patriotism and
the criticizing and describing of society (cf. Nichols 1936: 68). Tinker (1967: n.p.) refers to the
true purpose of gaucho literature as follows:

The great body of gauchesco verse and tales serves a higher purpose than merely to amuse, for it
enshrines the history of the Wars of Independence, the economic and social development of the country,
and the growth and decadence of a class. (Tinker 1967: n.p.)

As aforementioned, his image being promoted through literature the gaucho became the symbol
of Argentinian national identity. However, the reasons for this change of the perception of the
gaucho, who used to have a bad reputation, did not come along by chance. According to Slatta
(1992: 180) “the gaucho became the embodiment of Argentine character as the nation’s thinkers
and leaders reconstructed the past to suit twentieth-century political needs.” Slatta (ibid.: 179)
explains this development in more detail:

The ruling elite, besieged and threatened by vociferous demands from immigrant workers, adeptly
maneuvered to maintain power. The oligarchy resurrected the long-scorned gaucho and transformed
him into a nostalgic, idealized, domesticated symbol of Argentine national virtue. Ironically, the gaucho,
long despised by the elite, became its central ideological weapon in a battle against foreign-inspired
demands for social justice and democracy.

15
Nowadays, the gaucho is still an important symbol of Argentina (cf. Foster et al. 1998: 42). As
such, “he is celebrated in national culture, considered to embody the most positive attributes of
the Argentine individual: strength, bravery, honor, and a fiercely independent spirit” (Foster et
al. 1998: 42).

16
2. Masculinity in Cowboy and Gaucho Culture and Literature

When considering the American herdsmen, most people are likely to associate a certain image
of masculinity with them. In fact, a deeply masculine appearance is one of the main
characteristics of the cowboy and the gaucho. The cowboy is regarded as the embodiment of
manliness par excellence. In Western movies and novels, he is represented as a macho male
hero who rescues women and bravely faces dangers and difficult situations. Being portrayed
with an appearance and attitude of a stereotypically tough, brave and self-confident man the
cowboy has served as a symbol of maleness ever since he became a popular figure in
mainstream culture and literature. As far as the gaucho is concerned, he is also perceived as an
entirely masculine being who similarly to the cowboy seems to set standards for masculinity.
Even though the gaucho has disappeared from the Argentinian pampa, he is still “a potent
symbol of Latin American masculinity” according to Kaminsky (2008: 56). In this chapter I am
going to provide the theoretical background for my analysis of masculinity and the formation
of masculine identities as depicted in All the Pretty Horses and Don Segundo Sombra.

Both the cowboy and the gaucho are associated with an almost exaggerated sense of
masculinity. Nowadays, we still regard them as the epitome of manliness and we are still
reminded of the cowboy’s masculine appearance, for example, through advertisements, movies
and books. If one had to describe the cowboy and the gaucho and their masculine attributes,
they would probably say that these characters are brave, tough, fearless, daring and self-
confident. This image of the two herdsmen has especially been promoted by literature and
popular culture, in the case of the cowboy at an international level. However, it is important to
point out that our perception of their masculinity as influenced by literature and culture does
not necessarily reflect manliness and its understanding among cowboys and gauchos in real life.
Let us first focus on the masculine principles and ideals of the historic cowboy and the
background of the idealization of his masculinity in literature and mainstream culture. As far
as the cowboy is concerned, Moore (2010: 1) mentions that he “has become an icon of Anglo
masculinity to generations of Americans”. She proceeds by defining the idealized masculine
cowboy as follows:

The masculine cowboy hero depicted in film and literature is usually a figure straddling the frontier
between civilization and the wilderness, sometimes siding with the townspeople against the wilderness
and sometimes with the equally mythical noble Indian savage against civilization. Whether he accepts
or rejects white society, his manhood is clear, and often superior to those of the so-called respectable
men around him. (Moore 2010: 1).

17
In connection with this definition, Moore (ibid.) highlights that the masculine image and
perception of the historical cowboys deviated from that of the idealized cowboys, as they “did
not conform to movie cowboy masculinity, nor did their employers and the surrounding
townspeople share this image of the manly cowboy”. Far away from any idealized
representation of cowboy masculinity, the real cowboys expressed much of their manliness
through the performance of their work, the way they lived their lives and their treatment of
other men (cf. ibid.: 3). They did not heroically rescue women in trouble or bravely engage in
fights with Natives, which are two actions that add to the masculine appearance of the idealized
cowboy in mainstream culture. To them masculinity was shown by “exercising moderation,
which was essential to maintaining social order” (ibid.: 3). Other indicators of masculinity
among cowboys were responsibility and proper behavior (cf. ibid.: 3). It is also important to
mention that when it comes to the hierarchies of masculinity among cowboys, race was an
essential factor and benchmark. While the white cowboys considered themselves to be the most
masculine group, men from minorities were viewed as less manly in comparison (cf. ibid.: 9).
This is what the historic cowboy was like as far as his ideas of masculine appearance and
behavior are concerned. As aforementioned, the idealized and romanticized manly cowboy
figure we are accustomed to nowadays came into existence through literature and popular
culture. However, the invention of an overly masculine hero did not only add to people’s
amusement, it also benefitted a certain social group, namely the men that felt threatened by
immigration and women’s rise in society in the late 19th century (cf. ibid.: 2). According to
Moore (ibid.: 13) “for middle-class men outside the West, who worried they had become over-
civilized, the cowboy became a symbol of masculinity […] because of his ‘primitive’
masculinity.” By drawing on the cowboy figure and identifying themselves with it, many men
were able to define themselves as manly. The mythic cowboy figure, of course, was not real,
still it served as a means for many American men to counteract the social changes that had a
negative impact on their sense of manliness (cf. Kimmel 2012: 110-111). Kimmel (2012: 111)
explains that “as a genre the Western represented the apotheosis of masculinist fantasy, a revolt
not against women but against feminization”. He proceeds to say that “the vast prairie is the
domain of male liberation from workplace humiliation, cultural feminization, and domestic
emasculation” (ibid.). Consequently, cowboy and Western literature became the most common
reading material for men, since it offered them a masculine world they could not find in real
life (anymore). Furthermore, a multitude of men who considered themselves to be wimpy and
civilized left the East coast and moved to the American west at the end of the 19th century where
they sought their masculine roots (cf. Brandt 2007: 237-238). Brandt (cf. ibid.: 238) points out

18
that they renounced their civilized and luxurious lives in the east of the U.S. and looked for
harsher lives in the West. By doing so they aimed at restoring their sense of manliness (cf.
ibid.). Although this way of recovering one’s manliness by reviving it in the remains of the
Wild West is not practiced anymore nowadays, the hype around the cowboy’s masculinity is
still going on and cowboys are still considered symbols of manliness.

As far as the gaucho is concerned, he experienced the same exaggerated upgrading of his
masculinity through literature and culture like his North American brother. In the Argentina of
the early 20th century we can find major changes with respect to the perception of manliness.
In the following quote Losada (2018: 55) explains these changes in more detail:

The upper-class, sophisticated male is often positively valorized in literary texts of the nineteenth
century, but with the nationalist turn to the rural such an aristocratizing, European-modeled masculinity
became less appealing and a frequent foil for new models of masculinity. (Losada 2018: 55)

The new understanding of masculinity implied that a man was neither like a woman, nor
infantile, nor like homosexuals and nor like the men from urban spaces (cf. ibid.: 55-56). These
requirements set for an appropriate masculinity could best be expressed through the gaucho (cf.
ibid.: 55), who was becoming an idealized figure and symbol of national identity during this
period. Similar to the situation of the cowboy in the United States the gaucho’s masculine image
was taken advantage of and promoted by literature, culture and advertising (cf. ibid.). The
gaucho especially played an important role when it comes to the European immigration in
Argentina at the beginning of the 20th century and his image was expected to function against
the arrival of European immigrants (cf. ibid.: 56). As mentioned in chapter 1.3., the ruling elite
revived the gaucho, made him become a symbol of Argentine national identity and used him in
order to prevent immigrant workers from demanding social justice and democracy (cf. Slatta
1992: 179).

As seen in the previous paragraphs of this chapter, the cowboy and the gaucho and the
masculine images we receive of them have enabled men to claim a masculine identity and still
do so nowadays to some extent. With respect to masculine identity, this thesis will later explain
how cowboys and gauchos as depicted in literature claim a masculine identity by reference to
the novels All the Pretty Horses and Don Segundo Sombra. Now, when it comes to discussing
identities, we must first focus on how they are established. Sussman (2012: 9) points out that
by ‘identity’ we refer to “our own sense of self of who we are”. In the first instance, it is
important to realize that “to be a self in isolation is neither possible nor sustainable” (Sussman
2012: 9). Referring to Hegel’s concept of identity formation Ellis and Meyer (cf. eds., 2009: 1)

19
explain that “an awareness of ‘otherness’” is essential when it comes to the “process of identity
formation”. According to this concept, “’being’ is defined simply as in distinction from its
‘other’, ‘nothing’” (Ellis and Meyer, eds. 2009: 1). In other words, in order to claim a valid
identity one group needs another group it can compare itself with. Being aware of the
similarities and differences between oneself and the ‘other’, a different party, enables the
respective group to make conclusions about itself and find a way to establish an identity. When
it comes to gender, this concept of identity formation based on the ‘other’ also applies to the
creation of male and female identities. Connell (cf. 2005: 252) comments that masculinity only
exists when contrasted with femininity. He also explains that this concept is a young one that
came about in early-modern Europe (cf. ibid.: 252-253). According to Liggins et al. (2000: 7)
“gender is defined and measured in terms of difference”. Men and women have different
stereotypical characteristics which help them define themselves and distinguish themselves
from each other. For example, stereotypically men are considered to be more serious and
rational, while women, for instance, are stereotypically viewed as being more sensitive. Of
course, it must be highlighted that these are only stereotypes and that such characteristics can
apply to both men and women equally. Nevertheless, such differences are commonly used by
men and women to define themselves. The problem arises when one group bases its identity on
another group by dealing with it in a derogatory and devaluating way, or even by suppressing
it. From a historical point of view, men have frequently claimed a masculine identity by
derogating other groups, the biggest group of them being, of course, women. Liggins et al.
(2000: 7) points out that “[…] typically, women have been defined by their ‘otherness’ to men,
with men, ergo masculinity, functioning as the standard, the norm, the point of fixity”.
Throughout history men have defined themselves in comparison with women, for example, as
being stronger, more reasonable and braver. By degrading women, their qualities and their
behavior many men aim at distinguishing themselves as the superior sex. For example, when it
comes to certain professions some people believe that women are not as capable of carrying
them out as men, because they are regarded as being too weak or too emotional by men.
Consequently, by holding this view and belittling women men appear more capable and
adaptable and they enhance their sense of manliness. A frequent behavior that can be found
among both men and women involves defining oneself in terms of not being like the other sex.
For example, some men might claim that women are too emotional and that being emotional is
not a typical trait of men. Thus, a man who displays his emotions would not be considered
masculine, but instead feminine, which, however, would be understood as an insult among
many men. In this example we can perfectly see that some men need women as the ‘other’ in

20
order to enhance their manliness. Nevertheless, this is where a derogatory treatment of the
opposite sex starts. According to this ancient concept of masculinity being emotional and, thus,
being like a woman is out of the question and needs to be avoided. Consequently, the idea is
conveyed that appearing like a woman is shameful for a man, which casts women in a negative
light. In terms of identity formation, this derogatory behavior and attitude towards a different
group, however, can also become more aggressive. Throughout history, for example, men have
suppressed women and expressed power and dominion over them. By doing so many of them
have been able to claim an identity as the superior and more powerful sex. Nevertheless, women
are not the only group men take advantage of in order to establish a masculine identity. Such
behavior also effects different groups of men within the male community. As Kimmel (cf. 2012:
190) suggests, some men do not only attempt to identify themselves as manly by suppressing
women, but also homosexuals and men of different racial background. For instance, as
previously mentioned, when it comes to the masculine world of the cowboys, white cowboys
regarded themselves manlier than cowboys from minority groups, which helped them
strengthen their “sense of masculinity” (cf. Moore 2010: 9). However, it is important to stress
that not all men make use of these derogatory ways of identity formation. As aforementioned,
the awareness of the differences between the sexes is essential when it comes to forming
identities in terms of gender. Nevertheless, the derogatory behavior towards women that men
frequently develop in connection with the building of their masculine identity is not part of a
natural, normal process of identity formation. Likewise, the suppressing of other groups is not
a justified behavior, either. Consequently, it depends on the measure one uses in claiming an
identity based on the ‘other’.

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3. The Bildungsroman Genre

The Bildungsroman, which is frequently referred to as novel of formation and coming-of-age

story in English, is one of the most popular and important types of novels of the 20th century,
not only in its continent of origin, Europe, but also in the Americas. Regarding their structures,
plotlines, characters and settings both All the Pretty Horses and Don Segundo Sombra can easily
be classified as representatives of the Bildungsroman genre. The aim of this chapter is to
provide a theoretical basis for my analysis of the two novels as far as the Bildungsroman is
concerned. The definitions and listing of characteristics and elements of the Bildungsroman that
will be dealt with in this chapter correspond to the classical German, or European, tradition. It
will later be shown in this thesis in which ways All the Pretty Horses and Don Segundo Sombra
fulfill the requirements of the European Bildungsroman and in which ways they diverge from
this tradition.

Having its origins in the late 18th century German literature the Bildungsroman marks a type of
novel which, roughly speaking, focuses on the formation and development of an adolescent
protagonist and his transition to adulthood (cf. Gutjahr 2007: 7). According to Doub (2010: 1)
“the general organizing concept of this genre is the Bildung process of the protagonist, wherein
the individual (‘Bildungsheld’) engages in self-cultivation.” The word Bildung translates into
English as formation, education and, in a broader sense, development. The term Bildungsroman
itself was introduced by aesthetics and literature professor Karl von Morgenstern who was the
first one to deal with this new type of novel in his lectures and treatises around 1820 (cf. Gutjahr
2007: 9). As a technical term it also made its way into the English language, where nowadays
Bildungsroman is used synonymously with its common translations: novel of formation and
apprenticeship novel to refer to this literary genre (cf. ibid. 7-8). While in Germany a distinction
is usually made between the Bildungsroman, the Entwicklungsroman (development novel) and
the Erziehungsroman (education novel), not forgetting the Künstlerroman (artist novel), which
all share similar characteristics, this distinction, however, is rarely made in English-speaking
countries, where Bildungsroman is used “as an umbrella term which encompasses the other
meanings” (cf. Gutjahr 2007: 12; Doub 2010: 2). Doub (2010: 2) points out that “outside of
Germany, the more specific categories are largely regarded as superfluous.” Although novel of
formation is a suitable English translation to refer to the genre, I am going to use the term
Bildungsroman in my thesis. Furthermore, although the classical Bildungsroman originally
portrayed a young male Bildungsheld, I am going to refer to both male and female protagonists

22
in the following definition and explanation of the genre, since the female Bildungsroman
experienced its rise in the last third of the 20th century (cf. Gutjahr 2007: 8, 62).

Now, let us have a closer look at the concept of the Bildungsroman by focusing on Ortrud
Gutjahr’s definition (cf. 2007: 8): As aforementioned, the evolution of a young protagonist from
adolescence to adulthood is the focus of the Bildungsroman. In this process of growing up, the
protagonist reaches maturity by experiencing conflicts and crises, as well as by dealing with
social rules and his or her natural environment. Before accomplishing this goal, however, our
Bildungsheld is subject to something that Gutjahr labels a Bildungscurriculum, a certain course
of formation the protagonist undergoes before finding a lifestyle that is not only suitable to him
or her, but also socially compatible: After living under certain domestic, familial and
educational conditions throughout his or her childhood and adolescence, the protagonist spends
several years exploring the world by embarking on journeys or peregrinations which make him
or her encounter yet unknown sociocultural contexts. Thereby, the protagonist comes across
so-called Bildungsstationen, places and situations that are relevant for his or her formation.
These Bildungsstationen enable the Bildungsheld to demonstrate talents and abilities, and to
discover whether certain worldviews and life paths prove feasible (cf. Gutjahr 2007: 8). All the
experiences the protagonist gathers, whether they are positive or negative, help them become
more mature and aware of their purpose in life. Furthermore, they lead to the protagonist’s self-
discovery and enable him or her to develop personality (cf. Kohlschmidt and Mohr, eds. 2011:
175). Gutjahr (cf. 2007: 46) quotes Jacobs and Krause who explain that such experiences
include, among others, the protagonist processing his or her family home, the guidance through
mentors and educational institutions, erotic adventures and the protagonist’s taking up of a
certain profession. However, not all the experiences of the Bildungsheld are pleasant, as he or
she must also deal with disappointments, conflicts and hardships, which represent an essential
aspect of the protagonist’s Bildung (cf. Gutjahr 2007: 46). Doub (2010: 3) refers to these
hardships as trials which are “often related to work, love, and the legal system”. “Perhaps the
most important trial for our hero”, however, is “learning to live with the contradictions of one’s
society – indeed, one’s family – […] as s/he strives to find a path in the world“, as Doub (2010:
4) puts it. Wilhelm Dilthey emphasizes that struggles and conflicts are necessary and
indispensable for the Bildungsheld to experience on his or her way to maturity (cf. Kohlschmidt
and Mohr, eds. 2011: 175). Likewise, Doub (2010: 3) points out that “the ordeals of work, love,
and formal and informal schooling are some of the experiences which help shape the developing
person”. She goes on to say that “by passing through these trials of youth, the characters have
the opportunity to form their own opinions and values based on what they learn” (Doub 2010:
23
3). One important aspect of the Bildungsroman in this connection is the protagonist’s ability to
reflect on their lives, which makes them question their own education and development, and
their current state of being (cf. Gutjahr 2007: 8, 13). It is this self-reflection that helps the
protagonist develop his or her own opinions and values. Gutjahr (cf. 2007: 48) refers to Jacobs
who explains that the protagonist’s phases of reflection, in which he or she tries to gain a better
understanding of him or herself and their life experiences, are a typical characteristic of the
Bildungsroman. Finally, as mentioned above, the Bildungsroman closes when the protagonist
achieves self-discovery and social integration. Doub (2010: 3-4) comments that „in the
traditional novel of formation, the story concludes as the hero integrates into society (which
symbolizes his maturity and acceptance of social norms)”.

Now, in line with the definition and concept of the Bildungsroman provided above, the novel’s
structure can be understood as consisting of three phases and unfolds as follows: after the
depiction of the protagonist’s early years, the reader gets insight into the Bildungsheld’s years
of travel, in which he or she experiences love and friendship, but also crises and fallacies.
Finally, at the end of the story the protagonist enters the stage of paradise (cf. Kohlschmidt and
Mohr, eds. 2011: 177). In fact, apart from these three phases, the story in the Bildungsroman
comprises several stages, which represent an important characteristic of the genre (cf. Gutjahr
2007: 48). In between these stages we can frequently find retrospections of the Bildungsheld at
turning points or the protagonist reminiscing about past events (cf. Kohlschmidt and Mohr, eds.
2011: 177).

When it comes to the protagonist of the Bildungsroman, he or she can be viewed as a hero or
heroine. Gutjahr (cf. 2007: 45) refers to Hegel who regards the existence of a hero as an essential
characteristic of the Bildungsroman. According to Hegel, as Gutjahr (cf. Gutjahr 2007: 45)
points out, the protagonist, however, is not a hero in a heroic sense, but a young man who
searches for his place in civil society. Likewise, Doub (2010: 8) emphasizes that “[…] these
stories are not a hero quest in the traditional sense”. She proceeds to say that “these are everyday
people, going about the difficult (albeit banal) business of growing up” (Doub 2010: 8).
Furthermore, as a hero the Bildungsheld appears passive in the face of life events and towards
his or her environment (cf. Gutjahr 2007: 47). In addition, some Bildungsromane employ an
antagonist, a morally questionable opponent the Bildungsheld has to deal with or compete
against (cf. Gutjahr 2007: 53-54). As far as the other secondary characters in the Bildungsroman
are concerned, they can function as symbols of life for the Bildungsheld or so-called

24
Bildungsmächte alongside the protagonist having influence on his or her development (cf.
Kohlschmidt and Mohr, eds. 2011: 177).

As previously mentioned, the protagonist’s integration into society marks the ideal ending of
the Bildungsroman and is considered an important characteristic of the German and European
Bildungsroman model. In order to achieve this, the Bildungsheld must find “a means to
negotiate a balance between the self and society” (Doub 2010: 6-7). Slaughter (2011: 93) quotes
Lukács and summarizes that “the early idealistic German novels imagine the possibility of the
individual and society achieving a mutually beneficial and fulfilling harmony.” However, the
question arises of what happens if the protagonist struggles and fails to establish such a harmony
with society and does not achieve social integration. According to Slaughter (2011: 95) “a strict
thematic definition of the genre might insist that a particular novel is a bildungsroman only if
it achieves such balance […].” However, he goes on to say that the majority of Bildungsromane
“are spread across a spectrum of less-than-ideal resolutions to the tension between personal
liberty and social constraint” (Slaughter 2011: 95). In other words, in a considerable amount of
Bildungsromane the protagonists fail to come to terms with social rules and hesitate to change
their minds about society or are incapable of doing so. According to that, the Bildungsheld
might, for example, go on a journey because he or she objects to the conditions and restrictions
set by the society he is living in. Although the purpose of their journey is to prepare them for
their final social integration, however, they still struggle to accept the social norms at the end
of the novel and does not integrate into society. Although this process is not part of the classical
Bildungsroman concept, it must not be forgotten that the protagonist’s process of coping with
the contradictions of society is probably the most difficult trial they have to face throughout his
or her formation (cf. Doub 2010: 4). Another question that arises here is whether the protagonist
validly reaches maturity if he does not accept the social norms, which according to Doub (cf.
2010: 3-4) is an important criterion for being considered mature in Bildungsroman terms. This
idea of only being mature if one integrates into society, however, comes from the traditional
understanding of the Bildungsroman in the 18th and 19th centuries when social integration was
still considered an essential part of a young person’s development and maturity. This bourgeois
concept, however, appears to be rather antiquated nowadays. Furthermore, it can be said that it
is up to the reader to decide whether or not the Bildungsheld is mature. In addition, if the
protagonist spends a period of his life learning lessons and gathering experiences he or she
certainly achieves a certain degree of maturity at the end of the novel, regardless of whether he
or she integrates into society or not. Consequently, as far as the definition of the Bildungsroman
is concerned, it becomes clear that the current understanding of the genre does not correspond
25
completely to the European model anymore. Nevertheless, just because certain Bildungsromane
do not offer endings in which the protagonists integrate into society and obtain self-discovery,
it does not mean that they are less a Bildungsroman. What we need to bear in mind is that the
Bildungsroman as a literary genre has developed and may deviate from its original form.

26
4. All the Pretty Horses

Cormac McCarthy, whose novels rank among the most renowned works in popular literature,
was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1933. According to Frye (2013:3) he is considered
“[…], along with Cole Updike, Toni Morrison, Philip Roth, and Don DeLillo, as an American
author of monumental importance and value”. Being an avid reader ever since his youth his
first short stories were published in the literary magazine of the University of Tennessee, where
he studied creative writing. At about the same time he started working on his first novel The
Orchard Keeper, which was published in 1965. In the following years he composed several
novels such as Outer Dark, Suttree, Child of God and Blood Meridian; or, The Evening Redness
in the West, the latter being published in 1985 and acclaimed by many (cf. Frye, ed. 2013: xvii-
4). The settings in most of his works are the American South and Southwest and even people
he came across in his childhood serve as a “basis of characters” in his novels (cf. Christ 1999:
39/ Frye, ed. 2013: xvii-4). However, it was not until the publication of his novel All the Pretty
Horses, which is the first part of McCarthy’s so-called Border Trilogy, in 1992 that he grew in
popularity. From that time on, his other works also sold higher numbers of copies (cf. Frye, ed.
2013: xvii-4). As to the commercial success of All the Pretty Horses he did not only win the
National Book Award 1992 and the National Book Critics Circle Award, but also got nominated
for the Pulitzer Prize (cf. Christ 1999: 40). Only two years later, and then again in 1998, the
following two parts of McCarthy’s Border Trilogy were published, The Crossing and Cities of
the Plain, which both equally deal with Cole and Rawlins as protagonists. In 2000 a film
adaption of All the Pretty Horses was released by Columbia Pictures and six years later Blood
Meridian and the Border Trilogy were ranked “among the best novels of the preceding twenty-
five years” by the New York Times Book Review. Only from 2005 to 2006 The Road, No
Country for Old Men and The Sunset Limited: A Novel in Dramatic Form were published, all
of which were also released as film adaptions. He finally won the Pulitzer Prize for The Road
in 2007 and the PEN/Saul Bellow Lifetime Award “for his work in the writing of fiction” in
2009 (cf. Frye, ed. 2013: xvii - xxii). As far as the literary movement that McCarthy belongs to
is concerned, Snyder and Snyder (cf. 2013: 30) refer to Holloway who considers McCarthy as
a late modernist. Holloway (2002: 4), who is quoted by Snyder and Snyder (2013: 30), points
out that “[McCarthy’s] novels might stand as a series of experiments, or a laying of the ground,
for modernism’s revival”. Holloway clarifies, however, that this ‘revival’ is not to be considered
as a “nostalgic return to […] aesthetic conventions”, but that his novels stands for “a kind of
cultural representation that might retain what has been strategically valuable and egalitarian in

27
the so-called ‘postmodern’ praxis”, a praxis he also dismisses at the same time due to its “more
reactionary political contents” (Holloway 2002: 4; Snyder et Snyder 2013: 30-31). Thus, one
might refer to McCarthy’s writing as both modernist and postmodernist to certain extents,
however, ideally as late modernist.

The novel All the Pretty Horses by U.S. American author Cormac McCarthy comprises four
chapters. The story begins with the 16-year-old protagonist John Grady Cole attending his
grandfather’s funeral. His parents being divorced Cole lives on his grandfather’s ranch in Texas
with his mother and some Mexican ranch workers that Cole considers family. Soon after the
funeral he finds out that his mother wants to sell the ranch. Intending to prevent this he tries to
convince his mother to lease him the ranch and even discusses legal matters with a lawyer
behind her back, but he remains unsuccessful in his attempts. Since he cannot change his
mother’s decision Cole and his best friend Lacey Rawlins decide to leave everything behind
them and run away from home. One morning, when everybody is still asleep, they steal off on
their horses and set out for Mexico where they want to find work. Heading south they ride their
horses through the countryside of Texas and enjoy being independent and free. Soon they reach
the Mexican border and confront a boy called Jimmy Blevins who has been following them for
a while. When asked after the ownership of the boy’s horse, the 13-year-old claims that it is his,
which Cole and Rawlins do not believe. They continue their journey without Blevins in order
not to get into any trouble. Later, however, they come across Blevins again and allow him to
join them on their journey. While moving farther on Mexican soil, they sleep in the open, come
across Mexican strangers that help them with food and accommodation and ride long distances
that mainly consist of desert and plains. They stick together, even though Blevins and the
occasional trouble he causes keep the group back from moving on, e.g. when he gets drunk or
when his horse runs away together with his pistol. Later, they stop in a town called Encantada
where they find Blevins’s belongings. Trying to get the horse back, they steal it from the
wrongful owner. However, in their cloak-and-dagger operation they are spotted by the
townspeople and get chased since they are regarded criminals. In their attempt to escape the
horsemen that are chasing them they unwillingly part ways and Cole and Rawlins are forced to
ride on without Blevins. After some days they come across cattle drovers with whom they move
on west. At the end of the first chapter they reach an enormous ranch called the Hacienda de
Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción where the gerente decides to hire them as ranch
workers.

28
The second chapter opens with Cole and Rawlins working on the hacienda. Soon after their
arrival they want to prove their skills in horse breaking by offering the gerente to break 16
young colts in only four days. Contrary to the gerente’s belief, however, they manage to carry
out the task successfully. Consequently, they are sent to the mountains with four other vaqueros
where they spend three weeks trapping mares. Finally, after all these achievements the
hacendado’s attention is drawn to the two young Americans and he is impressed by them. While
working on the ranch Cole also comes across the hacendado’s daughter called Alejandra and
falls in love with her. Nevertheless, they keep their relationship as a secret from all the other
ranch residents, and especially from the hacendado, since both fear disapproval of their
relationship. One day Cole gets to talk to Alejandra’s grandaunt who is also living on the farm
and who already knows about their secret relationship. She advises the young American not to
see Alejandra anymore by explaining to him that he is damaging her reputation and that a
Mexican woman cannot restore her reputation once gone. Although Cole is now concerned
about Alejandra’s future, she cannot let him go and they keep on seeing each other. The second
chapter closes with Cole and Rawlins being suddenly arrested by police officers and taken away
from the ranch.

In chapter three the two young Americans find themselves back in Encantada where they are
taken into custody. There they also reunite with Blevins and find out that he was not only
arrested for stealing the horse, but also for killing three men that he murdered in his attempt to
get back his pistol. Since Cole and Rawlins were seen together with Blevins, they are considered
to be accomplices by the police officers. Finally, they are all taken to jail, but on the way there
the officers kill Blevins in the woods as punishment. Cole and Rawlins, shocked after the death
of their companion, are put in prison where they face several fights among prisoners and prison
violence in general. One day Rawlins gets seriously injured in a knife attack. In his despair Cole
buys himself a knife which he confronts the knifer with and kills him, but also gets seriously
injured himself. After that, both Cole and Rawlins are nursed back to health by Emilio Pérez’s
people, a prisoner hiding from political enemies. Suddenly, the two adolescents are released
from prison after being ransomed by Alejandra’s grandaunt. While Cole, however, decides to
return to the hacienda to see Alejandra again, Rawlins heads back home to Texas by bus and
their ways part.

At the beginning of the final chapter we find Cole back at the hacienda where he is welcomed
by the staff and given back all his belongings. He soon gets to talk to Alejandra’s grandaunt
who tells him that she paid the ransom for him and his friend in exchange for Alejandra’s

29
promise not to see him again. Cole also finds out that the hacendado had suspected him and
Rawlins of being involved in the criminal affairs in Encantada before they got arrested, but first
wanted to investigate the case himself. Cole soon leaves the ranch with a new horse and the
intention to find Alejandra and to talk to her. Arriving at Zacatecas he gives Alejandra a call
who first refuses to see him, but then gives in. They meet one day before her return to the ranch
and Cole tells her everything about the prison and Blevins. Alejandra, who is very sad, soon
admits that she told her father, the hacendado, about their relationship because she did not want
to be blackmailed by her grandaunt anymore. Cole is devastated and finally realizes why he
was arrested that day. Their ways part as Alejandra returns to the ranch and Cole rides on back
to Encantada. There, in an act of revenge, he surprises the police captain who had arrested him
with a gun and demands his, Rawlins’s and Blevins’s horses back. Trying to find the animals,
he gets shot in his foot and chased by some townsmen. Consequently, he flees with the horses
and the captain as his hostage and they ride through the Mexican prairies for several days.
Finally, some vaqueros calling themselves ‘men of the country’ show up and take the captain
with them. Although Cole has no idea why they took the captain captive, he heads back north
to the U.S. Back home in Texas, he takes the case concerning the ownership of Blevins’s horse
to court and ends up being declared the legitimate owner by the judge. Furthermore, he tells the
judge his entire story in private and confesses to having killed the knifer in the Mexican prison
in self-defence and to having kidnapped the police captain. He proceeds to find the real owner
of Blevins’s horse himself, but his search turns out unsuccessful. Finally, he returns Rawlins
his horse and finds out that his father died. When asked about what he is going to do next, Cole
replies that he wants to move on and find his “country” (McCarthy: All the Pretty Horses 299).

4.1. The Representation of Cowboys in All the Pretty Horses

Focusing on the plot of McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses it becomes evident that the cowboy
plays an essential role in the story. In this chapter I am going to focus on the representation of
the cowboy in All the Pretty Horses. Furthermore, I am going to point out which elements of
the classical Western, or cowboy story can be found in the novel and to what extent literary
idealization is used to depict the American herdsman.

When it comes to the representation of the American herdsman in All the Pretty Horses, two
variations of this representation can be found in the novel, the cowboy and the vaquero.
However, the line between their representations is blurred, as there are no explicit distinctions
made in their depictions. In fact, references to the North American cowboy and his existence
30
are limited. We only know that the protagonists of the novel want to live the lives of cowboys
in Mexico, a quest that they eventually fulfill by living and working among vaqueros. However,
the three boys call themselves cowboys and are proud of it. For example, right after crossing
the border the three boys get to a store where they order something to drink. After tasting the
cider Rawlins remarks: “I dont know what that […] is […] but it tastes pretty good to a
cowboy.” (McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 50). Moreover, the reader gets occasional hints at
the cowboys’ existence, for example, by being informed about the ranch of John Grady’s
grandfather, the saddle that John Grady is given by his father and Rawlins’ father’s remark on
horse breaking. Further indicators of the cowboy tradition include horse riding and roaming
about on the prairies. Nevertheless, it seems like references to the vaquero outweigh the
portrayal of the cowboy figure. In fact, we generally get the feeling that the cowboy tradition is
already fading in John Grady’s, Rawlins’s and Blevins’ home state of Texas, which is no
surprise taking into consideration the setting of the plot. In the 1940s’, in which the story takes
place, cowboys and the Western myth had largely disappeared from existence in the U.S.
Owens (2000: 65) asserts that the three protagonists decide to head south into Mexico, which
was originally regarded as “the foreign Other” and “a wrong move for the American cowboy”,
in order to find the Old West “that they can no longer find in the western United States”. He
goes on to say that “the western frontier is gone, declared closed […]”, which is why the
protagonists need to “find frontier adventures” outside of the United States (Owens 2000: 65).
“By turning south, the protagonists are turning back history to the frontier conditions of the Old
West” (Owens 2000: 70). Life changed a great deal in Texas and the U.S. in general after the
turn of the century. In addition to the fact that the cowboy tradition is practically gone and the
Old West is no longer the place where adventures and exploration are guaranteed, the modern
age has descended upon the country. As mentioned in chapter 1.2., the cowboys inevitably fell
victim to the modernization of life. In All the Pretty Horses we can find examples of the modern
age in the U.S. as opposed to the old world that the protagonists of the novel desperately try to
hold on to. In one of the scenes to demonstrate this John Grady receives a key from his father
to open a closet in which he stores a Christmas present for the boy. Receiving the present earlier,
the 16-year-old finds a brand-new saddle in the closet and runs down to the street with it where
a Ford truck drives along:

The first vehicle along was a Model A Ford truck and it came skidding quarterwise to a halt on its
mechanical brakes and the driver leaned across and rolled down the window part way and boomed at
him in a whiskey voice: Throw that hull up in the bed, cowboy, and get in here. (McCarthy. All the
Pretty Horses 14)

31
In this text passage it seems like the modern world clashes with the old cowboy world, as the
saddle can be understood to represent the horse as the common means of transportation of all
cowboys, while the Ford truck contradicts this image. The car is the new common means of
transport in the 20th century and horses are no longer needed to get from one place to another.
In Mexico life is different, modernization has not changed the country and the people to the
extent it has in Texas. Most of the Mexicans represented in the novel still live and work on
ranches and are dependent on farming and agriculture. There is not much technology to
facilitate their everyday lives. Of course, it cannot be denied that the modern age has also come
to Mexico, and references to this fact can be found in the novel. The police officers drive a truck
to the prison, the hacendado Don Héctor Rocha even owns a private plane and Rawlins returns
to the USA by bus. However, it seems like in general modernization has not taken hold of the
country the way it has influenced life in the U.S. Consequently, the boys can let go of the
everyday modern life they experienced in their home country and revive the myth of the Old
West to their satisfaction. For instance, when Rawlins looks at his driver’s license in the billfold
that Blevins shot through while demonstrating his talent at shooting the gun, Cole tells him that
he “wont need em down here [sic]” in Mexico, referring to the driver’s license (McCarthy. All
the Pretty Horses 55). South of the border the boys can live their cowboy lives in the fashion
of the Old West, riding their horses, roaming the Plains and forgetting about modern life. They
do not care about the fact that here they are considered vaqueros and that their idea of the
revived Old West is, geographically, only a Mexican frontier region. All that matters to them is
that their dream of living the lives of cowboys finally comes true.

When discussing the representation of the herdsman in All the Pretty Horses we must not forget
his most valued animal – the horse – which is a salient feature of the novel’s plot, and not least
because of the book’s title. Initially, horses seem to be portrayed as the cowboy’s and vaquero’s
means of transportation and as an essential tool to carry out their work. However, their
representation goes beyond the function as mere tools, as we also encounter a more intimate
relationship between the riders and their horses in the novel, which becomes obvious in the
following quote from the book, in which Cole is talking to his new horse after leaving the
estancia: “He told the horse that he liked it and why he’d chosen it to be his horse and he said
that he would allow no harm to come to it” (ibid. 242). Cole’s love is for the “ardent-hearted”
(ibid. 5), he loves to hear and smell them (ibid. 222). They calm him down whenever he is in
trouble and seem to be something stable in his life he can hold on to. Owens (2000: 72) points
out that to Cole horses “prove more reliable and less complicated than other dreams”, for
example, his dream of being together with Alejandra. In general, horses are highly valued and
32
cherished by the protagonists. Throughout their journey from Texas into Mexico horses
symbolize freedom and independence to Cole, Rawlins and Blevins, since they enable the
adolescents to get away from their lives in the U.S. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly,
they make the boys feel like real cowboys, as the horse is the only indicator of the cowboy
tradition they still possess from their home country. The meaning of horses to the protagonists
becomes evident when Blevins’s horse runs off and the three boys try to find it. Locating it in
the town of Encantada they intend to steal it back from the wrongful owner and place
themselves in severe danger in doing so. Towards the end of the novel, Cole returns to
Encantada to demand his, Rawlins’s and Blevins’s horses back, which were taken away from
them by the captain before their imprisonment and Blevins’s death. Even though Cole’s
confrontation with the captain is primarily an act of revenge, the 16-year-old risks his life again
just to get the horses back. Consequently, these animals appear as an essential part of the
protagonists’ lives, as their beloved possessions, but also as something they cling to in a world
in which not all their dreams might come true.

Let us now focus on the depiction of the American herdsman in All the Pretty Horses as far as
heroism and literary idealization are concerned. Unlike the representation of cowboys in many
Western novels and movies, which tell stories of invincible heroes that fight evildoers, All the
Pretty Horses looks at the cowboy or vaquero from a realistic perspective. Instead of falling for
an idealized and romanticized depiction, we experience the cowboy, or rather the vaquero in
his original function as herdsman, roamer and ranch worker. Cole, Rawlins and Blevins leave
their homes in Texas to become cowboys. However, they never really associate the cowboy
identity with that of the Western hero. Their understanding of what a cowboy is and does only
extends to their concept of work and freedom. To them, living the cowboy’s life means being
free and independent. Although this freedom and independence are Cole’s and Rawlins’s
principal motivations to set out for Mexico and to become real cowboys, they are not reluctant
to consider the hard work of a herdsman as an essential part of the role. On the contrary, they
want to find jobs at a ranch where they can carry out all the typical tasks of a buckaroo and look
forward to it throughout their journey. They finally manage to get hired at the Hacienda de
Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción in the Mexican state Coahuila and commit
themselves to the work and duties of a vaquero at the estancia. There Cole and Rawlins spend
their days breaking horses, breeding mares and riding out on roundups in the mountains. They
become loyal ranch workers and enjoy their new lives. At this point, their depiction differs
greatly from the traditional heroic representations of cowboys in literature and mainstream
culture. Owens (2000: 66), however, argues that there are indeed notions of heroism in All the
33
Pretty Horses and refers to the protagonists as “young romantic heroes of the type R.W.B.
Lewis has named ‘the American Adam’”. Owens (2000: 66) quotes Lewis in his book who
describes the American Adam as an “’individual standing alone, self-reliant and self-propelling,
ready to confront whatever awaited him with the aid of his own unique and inherent resources’”.
Referring to Lewis’s study called The American Adam Owens continues:

Torn away from a domestic Edenic sanctuary, an American Adam strikes out alone with naïve,
impossible dreams. In the wilderness he faces challenges, living in the present, without much
forethought about danger and failure. […] But in all of his manifestations, the young American Adam
is unabashedly heroic (Owens 2000: 67).

In fact, this description of the American Adam hero fits the three protagonists in All the Pretty
Horses perfectly. Cole and Rawlins set out on a journey through to them unknown lands with
the somewhat naïve dream to find the Old West in Mexico. While heading south they never
doubt their decision to leave their home country and determinately follow their dreams. Like
the American Adam they also face challenges and obstacles without giving thought to possible
dangers, for example, when they try to get Blevins’s horse back and are chased down by the
townspeople. In this respect, however, Cole and Rawlins differ from each other, as Rawlins, for
example, soon tries to get rid of Blevins out of fear of getting into trouble. Furthermore, they
do not necessarily consider failure a possible consequence of their endeavors. For instance,
Cole is pretty convinced of himself being able to break the sixteen colts at the hacienda in only
four days and does not even consider the possibility of failure. Owens (2000: 80) explains that
“the American Adam persona, as a prototypical hero, is expected to demonstrate bravery and
skill under duress”. Cole and Rawlins are undeniably two brave characters, be it the case when
they make their way into Mexico alone, or when they are taken to jail. Being brave is their only
way to survive in the Mexican prison and in general to survive in the foreign country. A perfect
example of their bravery under duress is the scene in which coyotes approach their sleeping
place in the wilderness. In this scene Rawlins gets up, gets a stick from the fire, throws it at
them and the coyotes disappear (cf. McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 92). Furthermore, they
show “skill under duress” (cf. Owens 2000: 80). Throughout their journey to the hacienda they
are reliant on their skills and knowledge to survive in the unknown prairies, for example when
it comes to hunting and finding food and water. According to Owens (2000: 80) the Western
cowboy-Adam is measured by his skills in gunplay and horsemanship. All three of them, Cole,
Rawlins and Blevins, own guns and know how to use them. Furthermore, they are excellent
riders and well-acquainted with all the facets of horsemanship. Cole and Rawlins are able to
apply their knowledge at the hacienda and manage to carry out all the work of a vaquero. As
34
we can see, Owens’s comparison of the protagonists in All the Pretty Horses with the American
Adam hero is difficult to deny. Although the protagonists might not be the classical heroes from
cowboy and Western fiction, they can be regarded as heroes with respect to their attitude,
qualities and virtues.

Another important aspect of the idealization of the herdsman is the fact that Western novels and
movies usually employ a villain that the cowboy needs to fight. Although there is no apparent
adversary to the protagonists and no actual antihero Cole needs to fight to save his lover, Owens
(2000: 92-93) argues that from a reader’s point of view, one person that can be identified as a
villain is the police captain. Cole returns to the town of Encantada to take revenge and confronts
the captain with a pistol and the demand to get back his horses. According to Owens (2000: 92)
the 16-year-old appears as a kind of American hero in this scene, as “he is now acting in the
best interests of Anglo-Americans, opposing the evil Mexican villain by boldly invading his
turf”. Consequently, Cole can be viewed as the “classic ‘good’ American defeating the foreign
enemy” to reclaim “American property” (ibid.: 92), an image promoting national identity that
has been apparent in literary works all over the history of U.S. American literature. The
traditional adversaries in cowboy and Western novels, the Natives, do not play a major role in
the novel and there are only a few marginal references to them. Contrary to their common
representation as thieves and killers in popular Western fiction, they are portrayed as a rather
peaceful people in All the Pretty Horses and not as the dangerous ‘other’, which we can see in
the following text passage at the end of the novel:

At that time there were still indians camped on the western plains and late in the day he passed in his
riding a scattered group of their wickiups […] The indians stood watching him. He could see that none
of them spoke among themselves or commented on his riding there nor did they raise a hand in greeting
or call out to him. They had no curiosity about him at all. (McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 301).

The only criminal reference to Natives depicted in the novel concerns three prisoners in the
Mexican jail. There, however, Cole gets along well with them and one of them even helps him
get a knife to defend himself. Thus, it can be said that there is no hostile disposition between
cowboys and Natives in the novel, which confronts and opposes the image of the Indian enemy
in popular Western fiction.

To conclude, in All the Pretty Horses we find the representation of two descendants of the
American herdsman, the cowboy and the vaquero. Nevertheless, despite the novel being a
Western story there are more references to the vaquero than to his North American brother,
which is the first deviation from the concept of the Western novel which usually focuses on

35
cowboys. The cowboy tradition is already fading in the U.S. due to the modernization of the
country. Furthermore, the Western frontier, the home of the adventuresome cowboy, does not
exist anymore. Therefore, the protagonists decide to leave for Mexico where they hope to be
able to live as cowboys and to find a place where they can revive the myth of the Old West. In
Mexico, however, they are not considered cowboys, but rather vaqueros. The terminology is
not important to them and the boys’ Wild West is now located in the prairies of the Mexican
northern state of Coahuila. Finding work at a ranch there, they can finally live their dreams of
being cowboys, or in the true sense of the word, vaqueros. As far as the literary idealization of
the cowboy in Western novels is concerned, we find a rather realistic depiction of the cowboy,
or vaquero in McCarthy’s novel. Although the protagonists do not appear as classical cowboy
heroes, they can be regarded as heroes of the type ‘American Adam' according to Owens (2000).
Another aspect concerning heroism in All the Pretty Horses is the existence of a villain the hero
has to fight. In McCarthy’s novel there are indeed Natives, but these are not depicted as villains,
which opposes the image of the hostile indigenous people in popular Western literature. Instead,
the Mexican police captain serves as the villain Cole confronts. In All the Pretty Horses there
are several deviations from the tradition of the classical Western story. Firstly, the novel focuses
on vaqueros rather than on cowboys. Secondly, the setting is not the Wild West, but the North
of Mexico. Thirdly, Natives are not represented as opponents, but appear as peaceful secondary
characters. Nevertheless, the appearance of the protagonists as heroes, even if not as classical
cowboy heroes, and the existence of a villain make the novel’s classification as Western story
valid.

4.2. Negotiating Masculinity in All the Pretty Horses

Just as manliness has always been regarded an essential characteristic of the cowboy figure in
Western literature and popular culture, it also plays an important role in All the Pretty Horses.
Although the classic cowboy masculinity portrayed in novels and movies usually involves an
overly masculine, self-confident hero that does not have any doubts about his own manliness,
we find a different representation of masculinity in McCarthy’s novel. Taking a closer look at
the protagonists’ behavior throughout the text it becomes obvious that Cole, Rawlins and
Blevins are desperately trying to represent themselves in the most masculine way possible. In
fact, they do not seem so sure of their own masculinity and in turn search for ways to identify
themselves as manly. Therefore, it can be said that one of the main features of the novel’s plot
is the protagonists’ quest for a masculine identity.

36
From a historical point of view, growing up in the United States towards the end of the first half
of the 20th century Cole, Rawlins and Blevins are gradually being immersed into a society and
culture in which the role and perception of men are experiencing a major shift. The days in
which the patriarchal system was the norm in the U.S. and provided men with superiority and
dominance over women are coming to an end. Women are continuously obtaining liberty and
independence from men and are now able to take control of their own lives (cf. King 2014: 71).
As the U.S. is steering towards Second Wave Feminism, a movement “defined in part by the
desire to independently choose personal destiny, free of familial obligations”, women’s role in
society is changing (cf. ibid.: 71). At the same time the American man who has always regarded
himself as the “responsible breadwinner, imperviously stoic master of his fate, and
swashbuckling hero” is now entering unknown territory, in which he can no longer define
himself as such (Kimmel 2012: 190). Furthermore, Kimmel (cf. ibid.: 190) points out that men
have always established “secure identities” by suppressing “marginalized groups”, particularly
women, which becomes a challenging task with the rise of women’s independence and liberty.
Consequently, many men find it a difficult undertaking to continue to define masculinity for
themselves. According to King (2014: 70-71) the same changes can be observed in the
protagonists’ home state, Texas, where Cole’s mother “functions as a symbol of the late 20th-
century ‘liberated’ women”. After Cole’s grandfather’s death she wants to sell the ranch and
become an actress. King (ibid. 71) explains that by doing so she dispossesses Cole, as well as
his father “of the ranch and a means of earning a living”. King further argues that the mother’s
decision leads to Cole’s emasculation (cf. ibid. 70), as he fails to “achieve conventional
manliness, associated with physical labor […]” (ibid. 74). Cole must conform to his mother’s
plans. He fails to convince her to lease him the ranch and cannot live his dream of being a
cowboy in Texas. Seeking legal advice, he discovers that nobody can prevent his mother from
selling the ranch. He even turns to his father asking for help, but soon realizes that his father
has no say in it either, as he has also been emasculated. Consequently, Cole struggles to
establish a masculine identity that suits him in the world he lives in, as he cannot obtain what
has traditionally been regarded as masculine in old Texas – possession, power and dominance.
The same applies to Rawlins who equally has no perspective of taking over his parents’ farm.
Furthermore, Cole’s feeling of being emasculated by the women around him also results from
his recent break-up with his ex-girlfriend Mary Catherine. When running into her on the open
street he is instantly confronted with meeting her new boyfriend, whom she left him for. At this
point, it becomes clear that he is not over her yet. The fact that she ended the relationship and
quickly replaced him makes him feel emasculated, which becomes obvious when he struggles

37
to admit to his father that it was not him who ended their relationship (McCarthy. All the Pretty
Horses 24). When Rawlins addresses him concerning Mary Catherine Cole remarks: “I
wouldn’t let her get the best of me […] She aint worth it. None of em are [sic]” (ibid.: 10). Here
he is not only playing down his feelings, but also positioning himself in a more superior role
than her and women in general. However, he immediately changes his mind by saying “Yes
they are”. Initially, he feels that women are not equal to men, and that men would be better off
without women but he retracts his words and reassures himself that women are indeed valuable.
This counterstatement also reflects Cole’s general view and treatment of women. Although he
might feel emasculated by self-determining women like his mother and his ex-girlfriend, he
shows no derogatory behavior towards them. Nevertheless, Cole’s and Rawlins’s desire to find
a suitable masculine identity cannot be fulfilled in a world in which they feel emasculated. King
(cf. 2014: 71) states that the two boys’ motivation to leave Texas is not only based on the fading
cowboy tradition in their home country, but also on the shifts in gender relations occurring in
the U.S. As she points out, Cole “seeks a pre-modern, patriarchal enclave as a sphere in which
he may be valued as a laborer and therein recuperate masculinity” (ibid. 70). The two boys
expect to find this world in Mexico, where they can still work and live as cowboys, which is
something they regard as utterly masculine, and where men still express themselves through
superiority, power and dominance over women. Brandt (cf. 2007: 238) comments that, from a
historical point of view, many U.S. American men who felt ‘feeble’ fled to the American west
with the aim to leave their civilized selves behind and recover their masculine roots. The same
proceedings can be observed in All the Pretty Horses with the exception that Cole and Rawlins
flee to Mexico, as the American west does no longer exist. According to Kimmel (2012: 111)
“the vast prairie is the domain of male liberation from workplace humiliation, cultural
feminization, and domestic emasculation”. It is this liberation that the boys hope to obtain by
leaving the U.S. and by making their way through the U.S.-Mexican prairies emulating the
creature that rules the open country, the herdsman.

Throughout their journey into Mexico the protagonists appear to find a certain masculine
identity through the mythic cowboy figure. Consequently, they steadfastly hold on to the ideals
of the cowboys, equating living their lives with displaying masculinity. Kimmel (ibid.: 110)
describes the mythic cowboy as “fierce and brave, willing to venture into unknown territory”.
He proceeds to define him by referring to Owen Wister’s letters and the essay “The Evolution
of the Cow Puncher”:

He is a man of action – ‘grim [and] lean, … of few topics, and not many words concerning these.’ He
moves in a world of men, in which daring, bravery, and skill are his constant companions. He lives by
38
 physical strength and rational calculation; his compassion is social and generalized, but he forms no
lasting emotional bonds with any single person (ibid.: 110).

Kimmel (cf. ibid. 111) further states that one of the main traits of the cowboy is, of course, his
manliness. In the novel, the protagonists seem to copy their behavior from this mythic cowboy
figure in order to be able to define themselves as masculine. Now, at a first glance, their
understanding of cowboy masculinity seems to be limited to spitting, smoking tobacco,
drinking alcohol, playing cool, and riding along on their horses. However, upon closer
examination Cole, Rawlins and Blevins are well acquainted with the mythic cowboy’s
masculine qualities and intend to adopt them, for example, by acting bravely and daringly. Their
bravery and daring are best displayed when they set out for Mexico alone, advancing into the
‘wilderness’. Facing several challenges and dangers, such as crossing rivers or trying to survive
on the open prairies, they never create the impression of being close to giving up and
determinately go ahead with their search for a cowboy paradise, which makes them men of
action. Furthermore, clinging to the masculine ideals of the cowboys the protagonists use skill
in horsemanship to measure manliness, which becomes obvious in the following dialogue
between Blevins and Rawlins:

Blevins are you a cowboy? said Rawlins.

I like it.
Everybody likes it.
I dont claim to be no top hand. I can ride.
Yeah? said Rawlins.
That man yonder can ride, said Blevins. He nodded across the fire toward John Grady.
What makes you say that?
He just can, that’s all.

Suppose I was to tell you he just took it up. Suppose I was to tell you he’s never been on a horse a girl
couldnt ride.
I’d have to say you was pullin my leg (McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 58).

Blevins acknowledges Cole’s superiority in horse-riding. The fact that he refers to him as a
‘man’ implies that Blevins considers somebody who is better at horse-riding to be manlier.
Furthermore, by saying “Suppose I was to tell you he’s never been on a horse a girl couldnt ride
[sic]” Rawlins reaffirms that a man who possesses good horse-riding skills appears more
masculine. With his remark he does, however, also convey the message that men are generally
better riders than women. In Rawlins’s statement we can undoubtedly find a discriminatory and
derogatory position towards women, which we will focus on in detail later in this chapter. The

39
character to imitate the mythic cowboy figure and embody the masculine qualities of the
cowboy the most is undeniably Cole. He most obviously tries to behave like a ‘real’, masculine
cowboy by appearing cool-headed and tough, but also serious, untouchable and mysterious. He
is not very talkative, preferring to observe his environment without commenting much on it,
which makes him a man of “few topics, and not many words concerning these” (Kimmel 2012:
110). The 16-year-old is not the easiest accessible person and uses his short and succinct
comments and responses in order not to get into profound conversations which are frequently
brought up by Rawlins. In fact, he seems to keep an emotional distance from his companions
and rarely interferes in their quarrels, which makes him appear independent and self-sufficient,
typical attributes of the mythic masculine cowboy. Rawlins shows a similar masculine cowboy
behavior to that of Cole, as he also attempts to appear tough, brave and serious. Unlike Cole,
he is talkative, loves to philosophize about the world and the meaning of life, and constantly
argues with Blevins. He enhances his masculine appearance by throwing out occasional
remarks that make him appear superior than his companions and authoritative. When Cole and
Rawlins, for example, decide to have breakfast at a café and Cole asks him “Could you eat
some breakfast?”, Rawlins replies: “You’re talking my language, son.”. Shortly afterwards he
addresses Cole by saying “You pay attention to your old dad, now […] I’ll show you how to
deal with a unruly breakfast. [sic]” (McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 32-33). We can find
another example of such remarks in the scene in which the three protagonists discuss the
ownership of Blevins’s horse. This time Rawlins is talking to Blevins: “Son, […] I dont give a
shit who it belongs to. But it damn sure dont belong to you [sic]” (ibid.: 41). In both text
passages Rawlins refers to Cole and Blevins as ‘sons’ and presents himself as their ‘dad’ or
somebody authoritative, which provides him with a sense of superiority and dominance.
Furthermore, by insulting and looking down at Blevins he also seems to feel superior and
manlier. His constant quarrels with Blevins can be viewed as attempts to suppress the 13-year-
old and claim dominance. Rawlins’ understanding of manliness as based on the idea of male
superiority once again becomes apparent regarding his view and perception of women. He does
not talk much about them, but when he does, his references to women are discriminatory and
derogatory. As mentioned above, by commenting “Suppose I was to tell you he’s never been
on a horse a girl couldnt ride [sic]” he indicates that women are generally less skillful riders
than men, presenting them as the inferior sex and classifying men as superior in the cowboy
world, in which horse riding is considered as thoroughly masculine. This statement also implies
that a man who is bad at horse riding is feminine, which suggests the idea that if you want to
be a real man, you do not want to showcase any feminine traits. He makes another derogatory

40
remark on women when he and Cole are again discussing the ownership of Blevins’s horse: “A
goodlookin horse is like a goodlookin woman [sic] […] They’re always more trouble than what
they’re worth. What a man needs is just one that will get the job done.” (ibid. 89). Here he does
not only compare women with horses, but asserts that beautiful women are not worth the trouble
they cause. Furthermore, by saying “What a man needs is just one that will get the job done”
he implies that women, just like horses, have a certain role to fulfill, namely to serve men. In
so doing, he makes women appear as mere tools and objects whose sole purpose it is to facilitate
men’s lives. It is not quite clear whether there is also a sexual connotation concerning women
in his statement, but women are undeniably discriminated against in this remark. Just like Cole
and Rawlins, Blevins also adopts the role of the mythic cowboy to find a way in which he can
display his masculinity. In doing so, he intends to appear serious and brave and tries not to
admit any fears or discomfort. Instead, playing the inaccessible, he prefers to ‘play it cool’ and
hides his weaknesses from his companions. Being constantly referred to as the ‘kid’ by Cole
and Rawlins he longs to be seen as being grown-up and, hence, as manly as possible. By
demonstrating his gunship skills to Cole and Rawlins he wants to make them aware of how
grown-up and masculine he is (cf. ibid. 47-48). His plan works out well and the other two
adolescents approach him with a certain kind of reverence, as they not only realize that he is
good with guns, but also that he could have shot them with the pistol at their first encounter:

You had that pistol in your shirt back on the Pecos, didnt you? said Rawlins.
The kid looked at him from under his immense hat. Yeah, he said.
They rode. Rawlins leaned and spat. You’d of shot me with it I guess.
The kid spat also. I didn’t aim to get shot, he said. (cf. ibid.: 48-49).

The pistol as the cowboy’s tool functions as an indicator of the “’North American concept of
manliness’” (Stoeltje 2012: 52). Therefore, by displaying his shooting talent, he can convince
Cole and Rawlins of his masculinity.

Although the three protagonists seem to be able to define themselves as masculine by emulating
the mythic cowboy, they also struggle and fail to do so. Cole, for example, who acts as the
independent and self-sufficient cowboy, does not turn out to be the lone wolf he would like to
be perceived as. Contrary to the mythic cowboy character as defined by Kimmel he does form
emotional bonds with his companions, not only with his cousin and friend Rawlins, but also
with Blevins. When Rawlins tries to convince him to leave Blevins behind in Encantada, Cole
says that he cannot do it (cf. McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 79). Blevins has grown dear to
him, which also becomes apparent when he saves the thirteen-year-old from the Mexicans in
41
the waxcamp who want to buy Blevins (cf. ibid. 76). Likewise, Rawlins gets too emotionally
involved with Blevins, albeit in a negative way. He constantly quarrels with him and insults
him, not only because he regards him a potential threat to his and Cole’s fresh start in Mexico,
but also because he gains a sense of superiority through belittling him. His longing for
superiority and dominance, which does not only manifest itself in his treatment of his
companions, but also in his views of women, contradicts the masculine virtues of the mythic
cowboy. Furthermore, he does not obtain Cole’s and Blevins’s approval of his derogatory
comments on women, and his attempts to suppress Blevins do not work out due to the fact that
Blevins either ignores him, or verbally insults him. When it comes to Blevins, the 13-year-old
tries to appear manly by not showing fears or discomfort and ‘playing cool’. However, he fails
at behaving like the untouchable, brave, intrepid cowboy he pretends to be. When the three boys
are riding towards a thunderstorm and Blevins notices the lightning in the sky, he admits his
deep-seated fear of being hit by it to Cole and Rawlins. Blevins does not want to show any
weaknesses, which also becomes apparent in the scene in which the three boys are eating dinner
at the house of the Mexican family right after crossing the border. There he falls off the bench
and the people around him start to laugh. Feeling ashamed and humiliated, he sulkily decides
to sleep outside under the open sky instead of spending the night in the family’s house together
with Cole and Rawlins (cf. ibid. 53-54). Finally, it can also be said that the protagonists fail to
claim a valid and stable masculine identity based on the mythic cowboy, since, as Kimmel
(2012: 110) points out, “he doesn’t really exist”. Throughout their trip into Mexico the mythic
cowboy figure is the only masculine constant they can hold on to. Unable to feel manly in their
home country, they finally find a way to define themselves as masculine, namely by identifying
themselves with this utterly manly mythic being. This ideal is just an illusion of the cowboy, a
myth that represents the real hard-working, unromantic cowboy as the embodiment of
manliness. The three boys are only familiar with the original North American cowboy as he
existed in Texas in the 19th century and, therefore, seem to draw on the mythic cowboy in their
search for a masculine role model. Nevertheless, they struggle to define themselves as
masculine by doing so, in that they try to imitate a being that does not exist in real life.
Consequently, their quest for a valid masculine identity continues.

Entering Mexico, the protagonists soon realize that gender roles south of the border have not
changed to the extent they have in Texas and that male superiority is still very present. In the
Mexico of the 20th century, women still live under patriarchal rule and men still define
themselves as the head of their wives and their families. In addition, men still legitimately claim
superiority over women, while women are considered the inferior sex and are expected to be
42
subject to men. The three boys’ first encounter with this to them unfamiliar social system takes
place in the Mexican family’s home right after crossing the border, where they are invited for
dinner and stay overnight. During the dinner the man appears as the head of the family who is
the only one allowed to socialize with his guests, while his wife is represented as inferior and
submissive: “The woman ate with her head down and the man joked with them and passed the
plates” (McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 52). When Rawlins finally thanks her, she “nodded
demurely” (ibid. 52). However, it is important to point out that these are only the protagonists’
first impressions of gender relations and gender roles in Mexico. Although they initially have
the sense that Mexican women are still dependent on men and that their liberty is limited, they
find that this not true for all the women. Alejandra, for example, is rebellious and in doing so
acts like her grandaunt in her youth (cf. ibid. 135). She is self-confident and not ready to follow
the strict guidelines set for women in her country. Furthermore, the Dueña Alfonsa proves that
women in Mexico are not powerless, as she has a great influence on Rocha and it is her who
ransoms Cole and Rawlins from the prison. When it comes to the boys’ perception of Mexican
men’s superiority over women, they are disillusioned to some extent. Arriving in Mexico they
hope to find a country in which men do not have to conform to the needs and dreams of women
and, thus, do not experience any form of emasculation. However, in his conversations with the
hacendado, Cole finds out that Rocha, who, at a first glance, appears as a Mexican patriarch
par excellence, indeed accepts his wife’s wish to live in Mexico City, far away from the
estancia, not seeming to claim any superiority over her. Moreover, he refuses to take control
over his daughter’s life, which becomes obvious when he talks about sending her to France.
Although he does not want to let her go, he ends up saying “She will go. Who am I? A father.
A father is nothing” (ibid. 146). It is important to point out that in contrast to Cole’s and
Rawlins’s situation in Texas, Rocha does not seem to suffer any emasculation despite the fact
that he respects the needs and wishes of his wife and daughter

Despite being disillusioned when it comes to the gender relations they hoped to encounter in
Mexico, the protagonists are still able to experience Mexico “as a sphere in which [they] may
be valued as […] laborer[s] and therein recuperate masculinity” (King 2014: 70). To their
advantage, the men in Mexico still seem to be able to claim their masculinity by assuming the
role of the breadwinner and by being the masters of their own fate (cf. Kimmel 2012: 190).
Furthermore, they continue to carry out professions that have traditionally been regarded as
masculine, such as the profession of the vaquero, which benefits the protagonists. After finding
jobs as ranch workers at La Purísima the two boys are finally able to live the lives of real
cowboys, or rather vaqueros, which to them equals living the lives of real men. Working and
43
living in a world of men, in which courage, fearlessness and, especially, skill are the guiding
principles, they feel comfortable and can self-identify as manly. Taking into consideration their
behavior at the ranch they also seem to feel the need to prove their masculinity, as the boys’
breaking of the sixteen colts can be understood as an attempt to convince the other vaqueros of
their strength and skill, and, thus, manliness. Petitt (2013: 71) notes that “the interaction with
the horse provides an opportunity to display traditional macho masculinity”. She further
explains that this display of traditional macho masculinity is enhanced, if a cowboy is successful
in his attempt to deal with an unruly horse and takes control of it and shows “his domination
over it by staying in the saddle” (Petitt 2013: 71). Consequently, as the Mexican vaqueros react
to the protagonists’ achievements with “a certain deference” (McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses
105), the two protagonists do not only feel accepted as two of them, but also respected and
confirmed in their masculinity. Furthermore, when it comes to Cole’s and Rawlins’s conduct
of the horses they break and hunt, we can also observe a certain display of masculinity in terms
of the relation between herdsman and animal. Acting as the tamers of these wild animals, they
can claim superiority and dominance over them, while the horses assume the role of the inferior
counterpart. In the following extract from the text we can find Cole in the role of the dominator
and tamer of one of the sixteen colts:

Before the colt could struggle up John Grady had squatted on its neck and pulled its head up and to one
side and was holding the horse by the muzzle with the long bony head pressed against his chest and the
hot sweet breath of it flooding up from the dark wells of its nostrils over his face and neck like news
from another world. […] He held the horse’s face against his chest and he could feel along his inner
thighs the blood pumping through the arteries and he could smell the fear […] (ibid. 103).

Unable to escape, the animal submissively obeys its master, as it finds itself under Cole’s
control. McCarthy strengthens the image of the boys as dominators by including the animals’
perception of them: “They stood waiting for they knew not what with the voice of the breaker
still running in their brains like the voice of some god come to inhabit them” (ibid. 104). By
depriving these horses of their freedom and bringing them under their control Cole and Rawlins
exercise power and dominion over them, which enables the two boys to feel manly. The ancient
concept of masculine superiority, which is seemingly not only present in human relations, but
also in the relation between the herdsman and the animals he works with is present in this
passage. Although Cole and Rawlins seem to take advantage of the horses to express their
masculinity, they do not fit into Petitt’s category of the “heteronormative, macho and
traditionally masculine cowboy”, whose treatment of animals involves the excessive and
improper use of violence and aggressiveness (cf. Petitt 2013: 71,79). Instead, they rather

44
represent “the calm, responsible and less violent cowboy” and “the sensitive, attentive cowboy
with finesse”, which Petitt (ibid. 73, 76) classifies as “additional rural masculinities” to that of
the macho. These types of cowboys do not cause any unnecessary pain to the animals and do
not boost their masculine appearance by making the animals suffer (cf. ibid. 73-75). The latter
carries out his work rather sensitively and attentively, caring for the animals and treating them
with respect (cf. ibid. 76). Cole and Rawlins, despite having to inflict pain on the sixteen feral
colts while taming them and being able to demonstrate their manliness, nevertheless, try to
make the experience as unpleasant as possible for the animals:

[…] [Cole] cupped his hand over the horse’s eyes and stroked them and he did not stop talking to the
horse at all, speaking in a low steady voice and telling it all that he intended to do and cupping the
animal’s eyes and stroking the terror out (McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 103).

While Cole demonstrates great empathy with the horses by talking to them and stroking them,
Rawlins complains a lot about their behavior and insults them. Still, he does not treat them
violently or aggressively. Therefore, it can be said that Cole and Rawlins do not share the
behavior of the heteronormative, macho and traditionally masculine cowboy, but rather display
an additional rural masculinity, as Petitt (2013: 73) explains it, this involves a sensitive
treatment of animals and abstains from claiming manliness by using violence against them.
Although Cole and Rawlins seem to have found a suitable masculine identity at the hacienda,
they are soon deprived of it by Rocha who has them arrested and taken away from the ranch by
Mexican police officers.

The protagonists are also faced with other concepts and standards of manliness in Mexico that
do not necessarily concern the appearance and behavior of the cowboy or vaquero. Most of
them reflect the macho tradition that claims men’s superiority over all the other individuals and
represents the man as a fearless, powerful, utterly virile and sublime being that, however, is
also forced to stick to the rules of machoism in order to maintain his masculinity. In his
conversations with the Dueña Alfonsa Cole learns that men have a considerable advantage over
women in Mexico when it comes to their social status. With reference to Alejandra she explains
to him that while it is dangerous for Mexican women to lose their reputation, since it is the only
thing they can claim in a world of men, “a man may lose his honor and regain it again”.
According to her, a woman’s reputation cannot be restored once gone. Cole reacts to her words
by saying that it does not seem right (cf. McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 136-137). His reaction
can be understood to demonstrate his view of the Mexican macho world. Although he initially
came into Mexico with the aim to find a place where men still express superiority over women,

45
he now realizes that he does not approve of the gender inequality in Mexico in which the macho
system is rooted and questions men’s position in society. Cole and Rawlins come across other
macho concepts during their arrest and imprisonment. For example, they become familiar with
the dimensions of macho masculinity through the police captain before they are taken to their
prison cell. He tells them about one pivotal moment from his youth when he and some older
boys went to a prostitute to have sex with her. When she refused to sleep with him because of
his young age, he apparently violated her just in order not to be laughed at and humiliated by
the others. He justifies his behavior by referring to resoluteness as an indispensable quality of
a man: “A man cannot go out to do some thing and then he go back. Why he go back? Because
he change his mind? A man does not change his mind” (ibid. 181). The captain goes on to say
that in the end when he came back to the other boys, no one was laughing: “You see. That has
always been my way in this world. I am the one when I go someplace then there is no laughing.
When I go there then they stop laughing” (ibid. 181). It is important to point out here that the
captain’s shameful and cruel act does not represent macho masculinity in the first place, even
though his story shows into what sort of behavior it can degenerate. It is rather the concepts of
manliness he mentions that are indicative of a macho tradition, namely the ideas that a real man
never changes his mind and that he must preserve his masculine appearance no matter what.
When it comes to the idea that real men never change their minds and never ‘go back’, Cole
does not seem to fulfill this requirement that seems to classify a real man in the macho world.
He does change his mind about staying in Mexico and returns to his home country at the end of
the novel. In terms of macho masculinity, he would probably be considered weak. However, it
can be argued that his ‘weakness’ is in fact strength, as it is a strong move for him to leave his
dream of living the life of a cowboy in Mexico and, particularly, Alejandra behind. He is forced
to return to Texas after kidnapping the captain, but retreating to the U.S. demands a great deal
of him and, thus, makes him appear strong. Compared to Cole, Rawlins appears to be rather
weak when it comes to his return to Texas. He willingly gives up his dream of living in Mexico
and, more importantly, leaves Cole behind alone. Although it can be argued that he is exhausted
and devastated by all the events that have occurred to him and Cole, his going back to the U.S.
seems appears to be a sign of weakness. One important lesson on the Mexican macho society
is also relayed to Cole by Emilio Pérez in the prison. When the two of them speak about the
adolescent’s fighting skills, Cole asks Pérez what he wants to know, who in return answers:
“Only what the world wants to know. […] The world wants to know if you have cojones. If you
are brave. […] Then it can decide your price […]” (ibid. 193). From this statement we get the
idea that bravery is a fundamental masculine quality in the Mexican macho world. If a man is

46
courageous, he ‘has cojones’, meaning he is virile and potent, a common and general masculine
concept among macho men. However, by saying “Then it can decide your price” Pérez also
indicates that this masculine quality provides a basis for the objectification of men. By deciding
on their worth based on their bravery, men are viewed as mere objects, not only in prison, but
also in Mexican society. Cole goes on to tell Pérez that “some people dont have a price”,
whereupon the padrote replies that “those people die” (ibid. 193), which implies that a man
who lacks bravery struggles to survive in jail, and in a macho world. By killing the knifer in the
prison Cole demonstrates his bravery and, thus, a valid masculine identity according to macho
standards. The fact that Pérez helps him recover from his wounds shows him that the padrote
now considers him a real man. He does, however, also realize that he has become an object in
Pérez’s eyes that is reduced to its fighting skills and bravery.

Finally, when dealing with masculinities, we must not forget one trait that has traditionally been
regarded as characteristic of men – their readiness to violent behavior. In the final two chapters
of All the Pretty Horses violence and revenge play essential roles and seem to enable the
protagonists, particularly Cole, to claim a certain masculine identity. To begin with, right after
being taken to prison Cole and Rawlins are exposed to constant violent fights with the other
prisoners. In jail Cole and Rawlins are subject to an “egalitarian absolute”, in which “every man
was judged by a single standard and that was his readiness to kill” (McCarthy. All the Pretty
Horses 182). It is here, as King (2014: 75) points out, that Cole “manifests his first violent
inclinations”. Trying to protect himself, but also driven by his longing for avenging Rawlins he
kills the knifer in an act of self-defense. Although this incident, in further consequence, leaves
him with a feeling of remorse he cannot get rid of, it temporarily also provides him with a sense
of masculine superiority, as he has proven his manliness by ending up as the winner of the fight.
King (2014: 75) explains that “the violence in prison functions as a means of establishing a
masculine hierarchy.” By killing the knifer, the 16-year-old has climbed further to the top of
this hierarchy. Devastated by his parting with Alejandra and longing for revenge, Cole finally
decides to confront the captain in Encantada. Kidnapping the man who is responsible for
Blevins’s death and their imprisonment, he tries to get back his and his friends’ horses. In so
doing, he does not flinch from using violence to achieve his goal. Holding the gun against the
captain, he threatens to kill him if he does not cooperate, which allows him to exercise power
over him and his life, and, consequently, display a rather brutal form of masculinity. Here we
can find again the concept of masculine hierarchy and superiority, as Cole can claim dominance
and is in control by having the captain’s fate in his hands. Throughout his kidnapping of the

47
captain and his attempt to reclaim the horses at the charro’s hacienda Cole is overpowered by
his readiness to violent behavior, which becomes clear when one of the workers from the
hacienda, whom Cole has defeated in a shootout, calls him crazy and Cole answers him that he
is right (cf. McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 266). The 16-year-old is aware that his recently
developed propensity to violence has taken hold of him and has made him do things he is not
proud of. However, the fact that Cole eventually tells the captain that he is not going to kill him,
because he is not like him, demonstrates that violence and the act of killing other than out of
self-defense go against Cole’s rather sensitive nature (cf. McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 278).

In conclusion it can be said that the protagonists in All the Pretty Horses struggle to find a
suitable way to establish a secure masculine identity in Mexico. Driven by a certain ‘masculine
identity crisis’ they leave Texas where they feel emasculated by the rise of self-determining and
independent women and set out for Mexico where they hope to be able to recover their
masculine roots. Holding on to the mythic cowboy figure as their male role model throughout
their journey they try to define themselves as masculine by imitating this utterly manly being.
However, Cole, Rawlins and Blevins struggle to do so, because they all individually fail to
emulate the mythic cowboy, and because they attempt to claim a masculine identity based on a
being that does not actually exist. Furthermore, arriving in Mexico they realize that the country
is not necessarily the patriarchal sphere they hoped to find, as women are also independent and
self-determining to a certain extent and not all the men claim superiority over them. Despite
their disillusionment Cole and Rawlins finally find a way to identify themselves as manly by
working as vaqueros at the hacienda. Encountering different masculinities and masculine
concepts while living in Mexico this is the only place where they seemingly establish a
masculine identity they feel comfortable with. However, being arrested and taken away from
Rocha’s ranch their quest for a masculine identity starts all over again. Gaining insight into the
Mexican macho concepts of masculinity throughout their imprisonment the two boys, and
especially Cole struggle to define themselves as manly by following the macho standards, on
the one hand, because they are unable to meet them, and on the other hand because they
disapprove of them. Cole, still searching for a masculine identity, seems to find a way to claim
it towards the end of the novel. He experiences violence as a powerful means to demonstrate
one’s manliness in the prison where he kills a man and reaches the top of a certain masculine
hierarchy that exists among the prisoners. His display of masculinity through violence can
further be observed in his kidnapping of the captain. Cole, however, feeling overwhelmed by
his readiness to violent behavior, also struggles to feel manly by using violence. Consequently,
like Rawlins, he leaves Mexico without being able to establish a secure masculine identity.
48
4.3. Coming of Age: Reading All the Pretty Horses as a Bildungsroman

In All the Pretty Horses we do not only find the protagonists’ quest for a masculine identity,
but also observe their coming of age. Considering the novel’s plot, structure and characters All
the Pretty Horses classifies as a Bildungsroman which focuses on the adventures of two
adolescent Texans who reach maturity by heading south into Mexico and trying their luck as
cowboys, or rather vaqueros. In this chapter I am going to analyze and discuss the typical
elements and characteristics of the Bildungsroman as they appear in McCarthy’s novel. In
addition, I am going to show in which ways All the Pretty Horses follows the tradition of the
classical European Bildungsroman and which deviations can be found.

Taking a closer look at the plotline of All the Pretty Horses, it becomes clear that the novel
fulfills several requirements of the concept of the classical Bildungsroman. The 16-year-old
John Grady Cole and the 17-year-old Lacey Rawlins are two young boys from Texas. They are
the main characters of the story and it is their journey to adulthood that the novel focuses on.
In fact, the greater focus lies on Cole and his maturing. While Rawlins is an important character
in All the Pretty Horses and can even be regarded a protagonist, Cole is the Bildungsheld. It is
his formation that lies in the center of the novel. As far as Rawlins is concerned, the reader is
not supplied with all the information needed to fully comprehend his Bildungsweg, or in other
words, his way of formation and maturity process. He does not make the typical experiences of
a Bildungsheld like Cole does and does not even appear as a character in some parts of the story.

Just like in the classical Bildungsroman, we can find the so-called Bildungscurriculum, as it has
been termed by Gutjahr (2007: 8), in All the Pretty Horses. According to this
Bildungscurriculum the Bildungsheld embarks on a journey to discover the world and obtain
maturity after living under certain conditions throughout his childhood and adolescence. The
final aim of this course of formation are the protagonist’s self-discovery and integration into
society. While we do not find out much about Rawlins’s family and educational conditions, we
gain insight into Cole’s family life and background at the beginning of the story. Cole’s parents
are divorced, and his grandfather has just died. Living with his mother on his grandfather’s
ranch, Cole grows up around the Mexican foreign workers and becomes accustomed to working
and living with horses. When he finds out that his mother wants to sell the ranch, he tries
everything possible to prevent her from doing so. As he fails to convince her to lease him the
ranch and to settle any legal actions against her decision he must accept that his dream of being
a cowboy in Texas will never come true. Furthermore, the fact that the ranch, which is the only
thing remaining to remind him of the ‘good old times’, will be sold leads to him experiencing
49
an identity crisis. Doub (2010: 5) points out that due to the consequences of modernity
“individuals can experience an identity crisis […], and may even encounter difficulty engaging
with society”. This also applies to Cole’s situation. His mother is a modern, liberated woman
who takes away his chance of living on the ranch. He does not feel comfortable with the new,
modern lifestyle, in which men do not have the final say anymore, and, above all, in which farm
work and the work of cowboys is obsolete. As already mentioned in chapter 1.2., modern
changes provoked the ending of the cowboy’s world in the United States. Therefore, like in
Doub’s explanation, Cole “has lost the traditional means of connecting with past generations
and incorporating into society as the rituals of agricultural, feudal society are replaced by
industry” (2010: 3). Consequently, he finds it difficult to engage with the Texan society of the
1940s. Cole is looking for a place where modernity has not taken hold of the tradition of farming
and working as a cowboy, and where he can fit into society without difficulty. With respect to
the protagonist’s Bildung we find the first and probably most essential trial for Cole in his
dealing with his family situation and the modern society around him. According to Doub (2010:
4) “learning to live with the contradictions of one’s society – indeed, one’s family – is perhaps
the most important trial for our hero as s/he strives to find a path in the world”. Cole’s inability
to find a to him suitable place in the Texan society represents the typical initial situation of the
Bildungsheld in the classical Bildungsroman before he or she embarks on a journey or
peregrination which propels his or her maturity process. Cole decides to leave Texas and start
a new life south of the border. He expects Mexico to be the place where he can fit into society
and where all his problems are gone. After convincing his friend Rawlins to accompany him
the two of them leave their homes together one night and set out without telling anyone.

Cole’s journey to Mexico, as well as the time he spends there, represent an important part of
the novel’s Bildungscurriculum. The journey itself is the first Bildungsstation for our
Bildungsheld. Cole’s and Rawlins’s survival throughout their journey is most obviously one of
the experiences that adds to Cole’s maturity process. Having left their homes, the two
adolescents are now on their own and need to make their way to Mexico without any assistance.
They are accommodated by a Mexican family and share the food with a group of Mexican riders
(cf. McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 52,73). Nevertheless, they have no family to rely on and
are forced to fend for themselves. Trying to survive in the open prairies they draw on hunting
to find food and thus demonstrate their talents and abilities:

Rawlins stepped down and slid his little 25–20 carbine out of the bootleg scabbard he carried it in and
walked out along the ridge. John Grady heard him shoot. In a little while he came back with a rabbit
and he reholstered the carbine and took out his knife and walked off a ways and squatted and gutted the
50
 rabbit. […] They built a fire and skinned out the rabbit and skewered it on a green limb and set it to
broil at the edge of the fire (McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 35).

When it comes to hunting, Rawlins is the one who provides the food. Hence, he seems to be the
only one who actively demonstrates his talents and abilities as far as the boys’ survival
strategies are concerned. Nevertheless, Cole also learns from these hunting experiences, as we
can see towards the end of the novel when he heads back to the United States alone and shoots
a doe (cf. ibid. 281-282). However, Cole does not only learn lessons about surviving, but also
about friendship and community. He sticks with his best friend Rawlins whom he goes through
various adventures and unpleasant situations with. Soon after embarking on their journey
Blevins joins up with the two adolescents. They first refuse to have him accompany them as
they regard him as a mere child that might cause them trouble. Finally, however, they allow the
13-year-old to come with them. Despite Rawlins’s dislike for Blevins, the three boys continue
their journey together. In the end, Blevins does cause trouble to Cole and Rawlins, for example,
when his horse runs off. Nevertheless, they agree to help him although Rawlins first wants to
leave the 13-year-old behind. They steal back Blevins’s horse from Encantada, which leads to
them having even more problems in the aftermath (cf. ibid.: 77-83). Another event that shows
that the three boys stick together is their encounter with the Mexicans in the waxcamp. The
Mexicans want to buy Blevins, but Cole immediately acts and rescues Blevins (cf. ibid.: 75-
77). Cole leaves no one behind and supports the people around him even in unpleasant
situations. All these experiences of friendship and community contribute to Cole’s maturity
process. Another experience that influences Cole during his journey are the new sociocultural
contexts he comes into contact with. Arriving in Mexico, he soon realizes that life there is
different from what he is used to. People are not dependent on modernity to the extent U.S.
Americans are and live rather simple lives. Men still claim the position as heads of their families
and, most importantly to Cole, agriculture and farming are still widespread practices. In
addition, the profession of the herdsman still plays an important role in the country. Cole seems
to find it easier to engage with Mexican society, since it offers him everything he was not able
to obtain in Texas.

The next essential Bildungsstation for our Bildungsheld is Rocha’s estancia where Cole and
Rawlins are hired as farm workers. Here Cole can live the life of a cowboy, or rather vaquero,
and for the first time seems to be able to find a place in society. According to Jacobs and Krause,
who are quoted by Gutjahr (cf. 2007: 46), the taking up of a certain profession represents a
common experience of the Bildungsheld in the Bildungsroman. In All the Pretty Horses Cole

51
takes up the profession of the herdsman and farm worker, which results in the fulfillment of his
dream. On the ranch he learns everything about the vaquero’s work and is even able to
demonstrate his talents and abilities, for example, when he breaks the sixteen colts (cf.
McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 103-109). By taming the feral horses, he attracts the
hacendado’s attention and receives the chance to speak with him in person. In his conversation
with Rocha they discuss famous horses and livestock. To his surprise, the hacendado asks for
his opinion which boosts his self-confidence (cf. ibid.: 114-115). In general, when it comes to
Cole’s maturity process at the ranch, he seems to grow more self-confident as his work is not
only valued, but also because he is promoted. Most importantly, he is not treated like a minor
that has no say, but rather as someone whose opinion and work effort matter. Although there is
no schooling through an educational institution or a mentor in All the Pretty Horses, Cole learns
important lessons at the ranch, not only with respect to the profession of the herdsman, but also
about life. Therefore, it can be said that the ranch serves as a kind of educational institution for
the 16-year-old.

Another important experience that influences Cole’s maturity process at the ranch is his
romantic relationship with Alejandra, Rocha’s daughter. Soon after arriving at the estancia he
falls in love with her and realizes that she has got the same feelings for him. The following
quote depicts one of their first encounters, at the ranch’s dance festival:

They walked along the road and there were other couples in the road and they passed and wished them
a good evening. […] She took his arm and she laughed and called him a mojado-reverso, so rare a
creature and one to be treasured. He told her about his life. […] She looked at him and smiled. Shall we
go in? He looked toward the lights. The music had started. She stood and bent with one hand on his
shoulder and slipped on her shoes. […] He rode back alone with the smell of her perfume on his shirt.
(ibid.: 123-124).

Gutjahr (cf. 2007: 46) refers to Rosenkranz’s book who argues that love and passion, as well as
the attraction to the other sex play an important role for the formation of the protagonist and
represent an important aspect of the Bildungsroman. According to him a man and a woman do
not only attract each other, but also ‘educate’ each other. Gutjahr (cf. 2007: 46) explains in
more detail that while the protagonist leaves his family home behind him, spatially, as well as
emotionally, he is in search of new emotional ties. In Alejandra Cole finds someone he can
bond with emotionally. The romance seems to be particularly important to him after his
disappointment with his ex-girlfriend in Texas who broke up with him and displaced him with
a new boyfriend. However, Cole and Alejandra are forced to keep their relationship a secret
from everyone on the ranch, except for Rawlins, since they fear the consequences of the
52
hacendado finding out. Despite their best efforts to hide their relationship, Alejandra’s
grandaunt, the Dueña Alfonsa, reveals their secret. One day Alfonsa invites Cole to play chess
with her and talks to him about her concerns regarding Alejandra’s reputation. She demands of
him not to see her again and to end their relationship (cf. McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 135-
137). Soon after this conversation Alejandra pays Cole an evening visit and tells him that she
will not accept this treatment from her grandaunt (cf. ibid.: 139). The same night the two lovers
have their first sexual encounter in a lake near the ranch and Cole tells her for the first time that
he loves her (cf. ibid. 141). According to Gutjahr (cf. 2007: 46) first erotic experiences are an
important part of the protagonist’s Bildung. Cole’s relationship with Alejandra, however, also
brings him into conflict at the ranch and disturbs his loyalty to the hacendado. The ranch owner
and the 16-year-old appear to have a solid working relationship which is now jeopardized by
the boy’s secret. Cole is conflicted because he does not wish to end the relationship with
Alejandra, but he also fears losing his job at the estancia. This situation represents an essential
trial Cole must face at the ranch, as he is forced to make an important decision; whether he
wants to stay at the ranch and live his dream, or whether he wants to be together with Alejandra.
In the end, however, he decides in favor of Alejandra and plans to head to Mexico City to be
with her. His plan is finally disrupted when he is arrested by the Mexican police officers, which,
as he later finds out, Rocha is responsible for. In general, Cole’s trial concerning his love for
Alejandra is one of the most major trials he faces in All the Pretty Horses. According to Doub
(cf. 2010: 3), trials related to love frequently appear as difficult situations that the Bildungsheld
must face. After his release from the prison he learns that the Dueña Alfonsa ransomed him and
Rawlins in exchange for Alejandra’s promise not to see Cole again. He soon gives Alejandra a
phone call and tries to convince her to talk to him and meet him in person. In the following
quote from the text it becomes obvious how important Alejandra is to Cole:

He closed his eyes and held the phone very tightly and he told her that he loved her and that she’d had
no right to make the promise that she’d made even if they killed him and that he would not leave without
seeing her even if it was the last time he would see her ever and she was quiet for a long time and then
she said that she would leave a day early. (McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses 246)

Although Alejandra first refuses to see him, they finally meet in Zacatecas where Alejandra
confesses to having told the hacendado about their relationship since she did not want to be
blackmailed by her grandaunt. Cole is devastated but wants to be together with Alejandra: “[…]
he told her that if she would trust her life into his care he would never fail her or abandon her
and that he would love her until he died and she said that she believed him” (ibid.: 253).
Nevertheless, Alejandra tells him that she cannot do what he asks of her, despite the fact that
53
she loves him (cf. ibid.: 254). Cole is heartbroken and must watch her leave him behind alone
at the train station. The following text passage depicts his inner emotions after Alejandra refuses
his request:

He saw very clearly how all his life led only to this moment and all after led nowhere at all. He felt
something cold and soulless enter him like another being and he imagined that it smiled malignly and
he had no reason to believe that it would ever leave. (ibid.: 254)

Cole deeply loves Alejandra, but despite her mutual feelings she decides to end their
relationship, which makes the 16-year-old’s world shatter. He gave up his work on the ranch
for her and left the life he had always dreamt of behind him in order to be together with her.
This experience with Alejandra leaves him embittered and upset and contributes to his decision
to take revenge on the police captain. At this point of the novel, Cole experiences two major
disappointments. The first of these is about Alejandra, and the second one revolves around his
life at the estancia. Due to his relationship with Alejandra he cannot live his dream of being a
cowboy, or rather vaquero anymore, which was the reason he came to Mexico. Although his
love for Alejandra means more to him than the work at the ranch, he is forced to accept that his
plans to be with Alejandra do not prove to be successful either. He ends up alone and with his
dreams shattered. However, these disappointments are an essential part of the protagonist’s
Bildung (cf. Gutjahr 2007: 46). As mentioned in chapter 3, according to Wilhelm Dilthey
struggles and conflicts are indispensable experiences for the Bildungsheld on his or her way to
maturity (cf. Kohlschmidt and Mohr 2011: 175).

Cole’s arrest and imprisonment in the Mexican jail represent another important Bildungsstation
for our Bildungsheld. As aforementioned, Rocha has Cole and Rawlins arrested by Mexican
police officers, not only because of finding out about his daughter’s and Cole’s relationship,
but also because he has suspected them of being criminals related to the crime in Encantada
from the first moment on they came to the ranch. Although it was Blevins who killed the three
people in Encantada, he and Blevins are imputed for the same crime. Furthermore, they are
charged with the theft of a horse which is actually Blevins’s horse. Cole and Rawlins only
helped the 13-year-old get his horse back and did not take away other people’s property
unlawfully or kill anyone. Despite Cole’s and Rawlins’s attempts to prove their innocence to
the police captain the three boys are taken to the prisión Castelar. On the way there, Blevins is
shot in the woods, which infuriates Cole. Soon after arriving at the prison Cole learns the harsh
reality of being a prisoner. On the first few days he and Rawlins constantly get into fights with
the other inmates and have to struggle for their survival. When Rawlins gets seriously injured

54
by a knifer, Cole wants to avenge his friend and defend himself by buying a knife. In an act of
self-defense, he finally kills the knifer. Cole’s time in the prison and all the experiences he
gathers there add to his formation as Bildungsheld. While being imprisoned, he is forced to
fight for his life and prevail against the other prisoners. In jail he is no longer a minor but is
treated equally like all the other inmates, which also contributes to his transition to adulthood.
One essential trial for him, however, is to accept that he is deprived of his freedom. He came to
Mexico in order to be free and now finds himself locked up in jail. Furthermore, he must face
the fact that he killed the boy in the prison, which leaves him shocked and conscience-stricken
up until the end of the novel.

As can be expected, the Bildungsheld returns from his journey towards the end of the
Bildungsroman. In Cole’s case, he finally heads back into the United States and returns to his
home town in Texas. On his way there he reflects upon the experiences he has made and the
events that have occurred during the time he spent in Mexico. As mentioned in chapter 3,
referring to Jacobs Gutjahr (cf. 2007: 48) points out that the protagonist’s phases of reflection,
in which he or she tries to get clear about himself or herself and his or her own experiences, as
a characteristic of the Bildungsroman. In the following text passage Cole reflects about people
that played an important role throughout his time in Mexico:

He thought about the captain and he wondered if he were alive and he thought about Blevins. He thought
about Alejandra and he remembered her the first time he ever saw her passing along the ciénaga road
in the evening with the horse still wet from her riding it in the lake and he remembered the birds and
the cattle standing in the grass and the horses on the mesa. (McCarthy All the Pretty Horses 282)

In his conversation with the judge we also find out about Cole’s concerns regarding the
hacendado and Alejandra. Again, he reflects on the situation at the ranch and even blames
himself for what has happened:

I worked for that man and I respected him and he never had no complaints about the work I done for
him and he was awful good to me. And that man come up on the high range where I was workin and I
believe he intended to kill me. And I was the one that brought it about. Nobody but me. (ibid.: 291)

Another event Cole cannot stop thinking about is his killing of the boy in the prison. He feels
guilty about the incident and confesses it to the judge who tries to cheer Cole up, but Cole
remains upset about it. He also tells the judge about the police captain and his intention to kill
him. To his dissatisfaction, Cole does not receive the relief he hoped to find in the conversation:
“I didnt mean that I expected a answer. Maybe there aint no answer. It just bothered me that
you might think I was somethin special. I aint. (ibid.: 293).

55
As aforementioned, all the negative experiences Cole gathers on his journey make up an
indispensable part of his formation and contribute to his transition to adulthood. Nevertheless,
these experiences also leave him disillusioned and restless. In fact, instead of getting him on
the straight and narrow path, they seem to embitter him. At the end of the novel Cole pays
Rawlins a visit and returns his horse to him, which he has brought all the way up from Mexico
to Texas. Rawlins reports to Cole that his father has died and that Luisa’s mother, or Abuela as
Cole refers to her, is very sick. In the following quote from the text Cole and Rawlins discuss
Cole’s future:

What are you goin to do? Head out. Where to? I dont know. You could get on out on the rigs. Pays
awful good. Yeah. I know. You could stay here at the house. I think I’m goin to move on. This is still
good country [sic]. (ibid.: 299).

Cole reacts to Rawlins’s remark by saying that it is not his country (cf. ibid: 299). When Rawlins
inquires of him where his country was, Cole merely answers: “I dont know where it is. I dont
know what happens to country.” (ibid: 299). This statement represents Cole’s inner struggle to
find a place where he can fit in and feel comfortable. At the beginning of the novel he left the
United States hoping to find that place in Mexico. Now, after experiencing various
disappointments in the country south of the border, he returns to Texas where he has no home
anymore and no actual prospects, and where he finds himself in the same situation as before he
left. In addition, his father has died and his Abuela is very sick, which is another blow of fate
for him. Cole wants to find his country, but he is sure that it is neither Mexico, nor Texas. When
it comes to the novel as Bildungsroman, we can find a major deviation from the concept and
structure of the European model. In the classical Bildungsroman the Bildungsheld achieves self-
discovery and social integration at the end of the novel. In All the Pretty Horses, however, Cole
does not integrate into society, and, thus, enter the stage of paradise. On the contrary, it is
impossible for him to integrate into the Texan society, as he still struggles to accept the social
norms in his home country, which becomes obvious when he says that Texas is not his country.
All the experiences he has gathered during his time in Mexico do not lead to his social
integration either. Cole lacks what Doub (2010: 6-7) refers to as a “a means to negotiate a
balance between the self and society”. As mentioned in chapter 3, Doub (2010: 3-4) points out
that the social integration of the Bildungsheld also “symbolizes his maturity and acceptance of
social norms”. Consequently, according to the standards of the classical Bildungsroman Cole’s
final achievement of maturity can be doubted. As far as the protagonist’s self-discovery is
concerned, Cole has learned a lot about himself while being away from his home town. He
seems to have found out who he is, what matters to him and what he is capable of. Still, this
56
knowledge does not make him stay in Texas and allow him to integrate into society. He decides
to move on and try his luck elsewhere.

In conclusion, All the Pretty Horses shares the majority of the characteristics of the classical
European Bildungsroman. Cole, our Bildungsheld, is subject to a so-called Bildungscurriculum,
in the course of which he leaves his home and family behind him and embarks on a journey to
Mexico. On this journey, as well as throughout the time he spends in Mexico he comes across
several Bildungsstationen, places and situations where he learns lessons, makes important
experiences and faces trials that add to his maturity process. In Cole’s case these trials are
particularly related to love, work and society, which are also common trials for the average
Bildungsheld. Cole finally returns from his trip and heads back to his home town in Texas.
Although the hero’s experiences are supposed to get him back on the straight and narrow and
usually lead to his social integration, Cole, however, is incapable of integrating into Texan
society. There are two reasons for this, the first being that he still cannot accept the social norms
of his home state and the second that he has not processed all the negative experiences he has
made yet. Although the greater part of the book conforms to the standards of the classical
European Bildungsroman, we can find a major deviation here at the end of the novel, since
Cole’s integration into the society never happens. Nevertheless, All the Pretty Horses is and
will remain a Bildungsroman that includes elements of an American artistic freedom.

57
5. Don Segundo Sombra

Ricardo Güiraldes, who considerably contributed to the Argentinian literature of the 20th
century as well as to the gaucho genre in general, was born in Buenos Aires in 1886 (cf.
Rodríguez-Alcalá 1981: 10). Being born into a prestigious family, he spent part of his childhood
in Europe where he later returned and came into touch with the European avant-garde and
modernism, elements of which can be found in his early works (cf. Ertler 2002: 135). Despite
his European tendencies in writing, however, he insisted on being regarded americanista due
to his Argentinian “nationality and upbringing”, as he believed “that a writer's approach to art
was determined by his environment” (Beardsell 1971: 322). His first two works Cuentos de
muerte y de sangre and El cencerro de cristal were both published in 1915 and were collections
of narratives and poems, respectively. These were followed by his first novel Raucho in 1917
which similarly to Don Segundo Sombra and other works of his deals with the pampa in
Argentina (cf. Ertler 2002: 135). Besides using the Argentinian province as a frequent setting,
he also incorporated facets of his own life into his stories. Furthermore, he focused on the
accurate depiction of reality. So when it comes to Don Segundo Sombra, for example, he even
stopped writing after 10 chapters and travelled through the north of Argentina in order to do
research for the rest of the novel (cf. Beardsell 1971: 322). Don Segundo Sombra, being his
“first critical and commercial success in Argentina” was published in 1926, one year before his
death, and earned him the Argentinian Primer Premio Nacional de Literatura (cf. Doub 2010).
The novel, being compared with classic Argentinian works such as Facundo and Martín Fierro,
was soon regarded a piece of national literature (cf. Doub 2010: 19; cf. Rodríguez-Alcalá 1979:
33). It can indeed be argued that by introducing Don Segundo Sombra to the literary world,
Güiraldes contributed to the establishment, constitution and transformation of an Argentinian
national identity and character, since the gaucho had begun to become a national Argentine folk
hero since the end of the 19th century (cf. Beardsell 1971: 322; Weiss 1960: 354, 357;
Bockelman 2011: 585). Furthermore, one can claim that his heroic representation of the gaucho
figure as not being an evildoer and thug anymore, but as being brave, virtuous and basically
upright figure did not only help reshape the gaucho’s general reputation, but also turn him into
a national symbol (cf. Bockelman 2011: 586). Güiraldes died in 1927, one year after the
publication of Don Segundo Sombra (cf. Ertler 2002: 136).

When it comes to the novel’s plot, Don Segundo Sombra can be read as divided into three parts
which represent three different stages of the protagonist’s life (cf. Doub 2010: 20). The story
begins with the nameless first-person narrator and protagonist fishing at a river and pondering

58
on his life as a 14-year old boy in a small Argentinian village. After being taken away from his
presumably dead mother as a child and not knowing his father the boy, whose name is Fabio as
we find out towards the end of the novel, lives with his two strict aunts who make his life
difficult by constricting his freedom. One day a mysterious man called Don Segundo Sombra
comes into town and immediately draws Fabio’s attention. Don Segundo is a gaucho who is
brave, smart and fearless, and as it turns out, he is looking for a job in town. He soon finds work
at a local ranch where he is supposed to tame and break horses for the landowner Galván. Fabio,
who is captivated by the appearance of the middle-aged gaucho and who wants to escape his
rather dull and constrained life, decides to follow Don Segundo and ask for a job at the same
ranch where he arrives even before the old gaucho. The 14-year-old becomes an eager worker
who carries out all his tasks without complaining. He tries to learn as much as possible from
his coworkers and, of course, from Don Segundo whom he deeply admires and regards as a role
model. To him Don Segundo embodies all the virtues of a real gaucho and a man he wants to
become. Two weeks after his arrival at the ranch Fabio finds out that the ranch owner is sending
Don Segundo and some of the other ranch workers on a cattle driving trip to another of his
properties. Fabio instantly wants to join them, not only because of his interest in cattle-driving
and his wish to accompany Don Segundo, but also because he wants to prevent his aunts and
the people from his hometown from finding him. Given the permission by the landowner to set
out the protagonist buys himself a new horse and gets ready to ‘roam’ the pampas with his
companions and a herd of 500 cattle. Before riding out, however, he meets Aurora, a girl he
falls in love with (for the first time), but is forced to leave her behind because of the cattle drive.
On the trip Fabio gets to carry out specific tasks of a cattle drover, for example, herding up the
cattle. However, he also experiences the downsides of his new profession, for example, when
he falls off the back of his horse or when his group and herd are exposed to inconvenient
weather conditions. He also gradually immerses himself in the lifestyle of the gauchos. Fabio
learns a lot about their duties, behavior and principles by observing them, but also by being
taught by them and especially Don Segundo first-hand. Despite struggling with his fears, aches
and pains, and feelings of not being good enough, the adolescent is finally proud of his
achievements and enjoys living the life of a gaucho. The narrative of Fabio’s first cattle-driving
trip closes with chapter 9 when Fabio and his group of cattle-drovers are caught in a heavy
rainfall and are finally released.

The second part of the story is marked by a time leap of five years. We find the now 19 year-
old Fabio having become a more skilled, experienced and less fearful gaucho. For the last five
years he has learned everything about being a man of the pampa from his padrino, as he calls
59
Don Segundo, whom he still looks up to and follows everywhere. Being still in the cattle-
driving business Fabio now spends his days riding across the pampa alongside Don Segundo,
driving the cattle of various ranch owners from one place to another and facing new challenges
as a herdsman. Besides work Fabio, however, also takes pleasure in the freedom of action and
amusements of the gauchos, for example, by placing bets at a cockfight where he wins a lot of
money and by attending a horse auction. Finally, on another one of their cattle drives, which
lasts for almost a month, they face several difficulties and lose control of the herd. After the
animals inevitably damage the property of an unknown farm owner, who despite the
inconveniences sympathizes with the herdsmen, the gauchos eventually manage to deliver the
cattle to the estancia of a man called Don Sixto. They soon continue their ride and get to another
huge ranch at the seacoast where they come across several other gauchos who are also looking
for a job. There Fabio and two other boys at his age, one of them called Patrocinio, join the
other gauchos in their task of herding up feral, free-roaming cattle for the ranch owner and ride
out as one unit. They soon make friends with each other, especially Fabio and Patrocinio, and
enjoy the work they are carrying out. Trying to hold back a wild bull that tries to escape the
herd, Fabio’s horse gets injured while the bull escapes, which makes the young gaucho furious.
When they come across the same bull again the next day, Fabio is attacked by it once again and
immediately wants to take revenge and kill the animal. In his attempt to do so, however, Fabio
gets seriously injured and loses consciousness. He is finally taken to Galván’s estancia where
he is nursed back to health while Patrocinio does not leave his side for some time. On the
estancia, where he is supposed to recover from his wounds, he also gets to know Paula,
Patrocinio’s sister, whom he becomes very fond of. She stays with him on the ranch even after
her brother leaves and Fabio tries to win her over. However, one day when he unwillingly gets
into a fight with Numa, a ranch worker who is also in love with Paula, he pulls his knife to
protect himself and injures Numa. As a consequence, Paula loses all interest in him as she
regards him a brute. Although he has not still fully recovered from his injuries, Fabio decides
to leave the estancia, as he regards it a necessity after the incident with Numa. He returns to the
outlying estate where Don Segundo is waiting for him and they soon continue traversing the
pampa. In the following few weeks they participate in a horserace in which Fabio loses a lot of
his money, as well as some horses, and he witnesses a knife fight in which a gaucho is killed.
They are also once more employed as cattle drovers and face difficulties driving their herd
through a heavy rainstorm. Finally, Pedro Barrales, a cherished comrade from Fabio’s first
cattle drive, pays the protagonist a visit in order to deliver him a letter which will change the
young gaucho’s life. Fabio finds out that his father Don Fabio Cáceres has died and that he

60
inherits his father’s properties as his legitimate son. He is shocked, confused and angry, and
does not know how to react, but is sure that he does not want to leave behind his life as a free
gaucho. Despite not being interested in the life of a landowner and the wealth he has just gained,
he returns to his home town in company with Don Segundo. There he is kindly welcomed by
his custodian Don Leandro, who treats him in a rather fatherly way and wants to introduce him
to his new life, but Fabio feels like his world is falling apart.

After another time leap of three years the final part of the story begins with Fabio recounting
his life as a ranch owner while sitting at a lagoon on his property. On the one hand he regrets
his decision and longs for returning to his life as a gaucho on the pampa, on the other hand he
seems to have got used to his new life. This day, however, is a particularly sad one for him.
Don Segundo, who has been living and working on Fabio’s estancia for three years, has decided
to continue his life on the pampa, which saddens Fabio, but he can also relate to the decision.
In the last scene of the novel Fabio bids farewell to Don Segundo by shaking hands with him.
While watching his padrino riding off, Fabio concludes the narration by saying that he feels
like bleeding to death (Güiraldes. Don Segundo Sombra 111).

5.1. The Representation of Gauchos in Don Segundo Sombra

In Ricardo Güiraldes’s Don Segundo Sombra the gaucho has the strongest presence in the novel
and is portrayed by Fabio and his gaucho companions. Revolving around the world of the
Argentinian herdsmen the book tells the story of a young boy who is on the gradual path to
become a gaucho and is fascinated with the changes in his life. In this chapter, I demonstrate
how the gaucho is represented in Don Segundo Sombra. Furthermore, I examine whether this
representation offers a historically accurate and truthful account of the gaucho and to what
extent literary idealization is used to depict the Argentinian herdsman.

At a first glance, it can be said that in Don Segundo Sombra we are provided with an accurate
insight into the world of the gauchos. By reading Güiraldes’s novel the reader is given detailed
information about their work, their lives, their leisure time activities, their qualities and traits,
as well as their likes and dislikes. According to the description provided by the narrator and
protagonist, Fabio, the gauchos in the novel appear as hard-working farmhands and cattle
drivers who are considered ‘men of the pampa’. Their work is everything but easy and demands
a lot of perseverance and endurance, which we learn through Fabio who initially has a hard
time adjusting to the herdsman profession. As far as their work and duties are concerned, we
primarily find the gauchos in Don Segundo Sombra rounding up wild cattle, driving the herds
61
of hacendados from one place to another and breaking horses. Furthermore, the gauchos in Don
Segundo Sombra are well-skilled in horsemanship and know how to deal with the animals they
work with. In addition to their horses their equipment includes ponchos, boots and spurs, lassos
and boleadoras. When it comes to their qualities and traits, they seem to be rather balanced and
down-to-earth people who have a passion for their jobs and readily accept the risks their
profession entails. Working in groups Güiraldes’s gauchos are team players and are there for
each other in times of distress, which becomes evident at some points in the novel, for example,
when Fabio breaks his collarbone after his confrontation with a bull (cf. ibid.: 69). In this scene
we realize that friendship is an important part of the gaucho life represented in the novel, since
Fabio’s friend Patrocinio rescues and takes care of him.

Spending their days roaming the pampa Güiraldes’s gauchos are forced to cope with several
dangers, such as unruly cattle, injuries and adverse weather conditions. In this connection one
indispensable trait of the gaucho that is mentioned in Don Segundo Sombra is his toughness.
For instance, during the round up described in the novel one of the men participating gets
injured. When Fabio finally addresses this man about his injury, the gaucho does not consider
it to be severe although he cannot feel his leg. He claims that the only thing he needs is patience
(cf. ibid. 66). A real gaucho as represented in the novel leaves his weaknesses behind and never
gives up, which we can see, for example, in the following quote in which Fabio refers to the
fortitude and stamina of the gaucho: “El buen paisano olvida flojeras, hincha el lomo a los
sinsabores, y endereza a la suerte que le aguarda, con toda la confianza puesta en su coraje”
(ibid.: 78) (A good peasant forgets about weaknesses, resists sorrows, and straightens up in the
face of the fate that awaits him and places all his confidence in his courage) 11. Furthermore,
Fabio explains to us that the gaucho is a calm man who is an enemy of uproar and needless
boasting (cf. ibid.: 65). However, although the gauchos in the novel are mainly portrayed as
peaceful people, we do experience them as quick-tempered drunkards who fight and kill each
other. In one scene at a pulpería two gauchos end up in a knife fight and one of them gets killed.
Thereupon, one of the spectators of the fight comments that gauchos only call themselves
Christians, but are hounds, while another one interjects that it is the pride that kills the gaucho
and makes him draw the knife (cf. ibid.: 97-98). Here we find out two not so pleasant truths
about the gaucho: first, he can be violent and act irrationally and secondly, he is driven by his
pride. Nevertheless, the representation of the gaucho as peace-loving and self-controlled
outweighs the depiction of the troublemaker in Don Segundo Sombra. Furthermore, what is

11
This translation from Spanish into English has been provided by the author of this thesis.
62
essential to a gaucho according to Fabio is his roving spirit which he describes as feeling a
constantly increasing need to possess the world (cf. ibid.: 105). Fabio also indicates that the
gaucho does not view the pampa plains he crosses as foreign land, since he is considered ‘the
owner of the pampa’ (cf. ibid.: 214). It is important to mention that in Don Segundo Sombra we
do not only experience the gaucho carrying out his profession, but also gain insight into his
leisure activities, which, in fact, represent a major part of the gauchos’ depiction in the novel.
Observing Fabio and Don Segundo, for example, betting on a cockfight and a horse race, as
well as enjoying themselves at a ball at an estancia, it can be concluded that the gaucho is a
cheerful fellow who seeks entertainment and whose life is not only committed to his work and
roaming about. In fact, Güiraldes’s gauchos are vivacious, sing and dance and are full of the
joys of life. In general, it can be said that Fabio regards Don Segundo as the gaucho prototype.
Admiring his padrino Fabio represents him as the man of the pampa par excellence who
possesses all the qualities and skills that it takes to be a real gaucho. This becomes obvious, for
example, when Fabio tells the reader that he has learned everything he needed to know as a
herdsman from Don Segundo:

Él fue quien me guió pacientemente hacia todos los conocimientos de hombre de pampa. Él me enseñó
los saberes del resero, las artimañas del domador, el manejo del lazo y las boleadoras, la difícil ciencia
de formar un buen caballo para el aparte y las pechadas, el entablar una tropilla y hacerla parar a mano
en el campo, hasta poder agarrar los animales dónde y cómo quisiera (ibid.: 34).

It was him who patiently guided me towards all the knowledge of the gaucho. He taught me the
knowledge of the cattle driver, the tricks of the horse-breaker, the handling of the lasso and the
boleadoras, the difficult science of training a good horse, how to drive a herd and make it stop in the
pasture, and how to catch the animals wherever and in what way I wanted.12

In addition to his representation as a master of his trade, Don Segundo is depicted as being
brave, tough and fearless. Another attribute that Fabio ascribes to his padrino is patience.
Knowing what to do and what to say in every situation Don Segundo is smart and always stays
calm whenever there are times of crises, for example, when Fabio becomes unsettled after
receiving a letter in which he is informed about his father’s death and his inheritance. Don
Segundo is very popular among the peasant population and welcomed and well-respected by
the people wherever he goes. Although he readily works together with the other gauchos, he is,
however, an independent spirit that belongs to himself. It can be said that in Güiraldes’s work

12
This translation from Spanish into English has been provided by the author of this thesis.
63
Don Segundo is the most representative of the gaucho character, not least because he is the one
who introduces Fabio to the world of the Argentinian herdsmen.

Within the context of the representation of gauchos it is important to also draw attention to the
animals their very existence is tied to. As a matter of course, the horse and the cow are the
foundation of every herdsman’s life and the same applies to Güiraldes’s gauchos. In the novel
it becomes clear that the lives of the gauchos revolve around these animals, which becomes
obvious when focusing on the gauchos’ conversations and the language they use. Fabio, for
example, uses metaphors and similes that are based on these animals to describe himself and
his environment, even when he is not at work. While being at the ball at one of the estancias he
and Don Segundo work for Fabio refers to a crowd of people as thirsty cattle impeding each
other at the water. Furthermore, when attention is focused on him, and he feels uncomfortable,
Fabio compares himself to a foal tied up at the legs (cf. Güiraldes. Don Segundo Sombra 37,
38). Here it becomes clear that the animals are very important to the young gaucho, since they
even have an impact on his everyday use of language. In general, the gauchos in Don Segundo
Sombra cherish their horses and care for them. They also deal with the cattle in an appropriate
herdsman way. Nevertheless, their treatment of these animals can be harsh and cruel at times,
too. For example, when they muster the cattle and drive them to the estancias or when they
break horses. Although they deprive these animals of their freedom and teach them to obey, it
is an essential part of their work and therefore cannot be simply described as unjust and cruel.
Nevertheless, in one situation Fabio is more extreme than the other gauchos when it comes to
the treatment of the animals. After a bull injures his horse during the round-up and he later
comes across the same bull again and is attacked by it again, he takes revenge on the animal
and kills it. Fabio does not act very gaucholike in this situation since he kills the bull out of a
drive for revenge and anger. However, Fabio is not an animal abuser either, which becomes
obvious when he shows great sympathy with the dead animals during the cattle drives.

At this point it could be argued that the representation of the gaucho in Don Segundo Sombra
deviates from reality and that the gaucho figure depicted in the novel is just an idealized and
romanticized being that differs from the historical gaucho. For example, with respect to the
gaucho’s profession, the tasks that Güiraldes’s herdsmen carry out do not necessarily represent
the work of the original gaucho who was rather a hunter than a herdsman and whose main
business it was to obtain the hides of wild cows and horses. He only broke horses and
participated in cattle hunts when he needed money, but it was not his regular occupation (cf.
Nichols 1937: 534). It is also important to mention that the real gaucho was a rebel and outlaw

64
whose work was considered illegal as he engaged in contraband trade. In Don Segundo Sombra
the gauchos’ profession comprises driving the cattle of landowners from one place to another,
going on roundups to provide the hacendados with new cattle and carrying out duties at the
estancias, which are typical tasks of a herdsman. There are no references to illegal activities
when it comes to the jobs of Fabio, Don Segundo and their companions, since they carry out
honest work for honest money. Furthermore, the gauchos in Güiraldes’s novel are represented
as being popular and accepted among the Argentine rural population. This image contradicts
the actual perception of the historic gaucho in his day who was instead despised and dreaded
by the average Argentinian citizen due to his reprehensible nature and behavior. In contrast,
Don Segundo is usually respected and appreciated by the people he comes across. Fabio
mentions that his padrino has a special charisma that evokes admiration in the countrymen
wherever he goes. In general, the gauchos in Don Segundo Sombra do not seem to have a bad
reputation, even though they fight against each other, kill their fellows or bet on cockfights.
Despite the gauchos’ brute behavior that we can also observe in the novel they are, nevertheless,
for the most part depicted as hard-working members of the rural society and lose their status as
social outcasts. For example, one way in which we can observe that there is no defensive
attitude towards the gauchos on the part of the peasant population is the readiness of estancia
owners to accommodate the cattle drivers during their trips. Although the arguments mentioned
above demonstrate that the representation of the gaucho in Don Segundo Sombra deviates from
reality, it can be said that the portrayal of the Argentinian herdsmen in Güiraldes’s work is
mainly accurate. First of all, most of the information we receive about the gauchos in the novel
is authentic and based on the truth. For example, the description of the gauchos’ qualities is
certainly correct, as their profession and lives undeniably required a lot of toughness,
perseverance and bravery. They were also well-skilled in horsemanship in real life and used the
equipment mentioned in the novel for their work. When it comes to the gauchos’ leisure time,
all the activities that are depicted in Don Segundo Sombra also match with the ones the historic
gaucho engaged in. Then, although the representation of the gauchos’ profession and popularity
does not necessarily seem to reflect historical circumstances, we must not forget the time at
which Güiraldes’s novel is set. Don Segundo Sombra was published in 1926, a time when the
gaucho’s time roaming the Argentinian prairies had already come to an end. Since the gaucho
ceased to exist around the 1870s, according to Nichols, and the novel offers a nostalgic look
back at the life of the gaucho, the story is more than likely set towards the end of the 19th century
(cf. Nichols 1937: 536; Gálvez 1990: 164-165). At this point, the gaucho of the late 19th century
no longer worked as a hunter, nor did he deal in contraband. Instead, he had become a rural

65
worker who mainly pursued the trade of the cattle driver (cf. Gálvez ibid.). Thus, Güiraldes’s
depiction of his gauchos’ work does not deviate from historical facts. When it comes to the
gauchos’ reputation, the novel offers a truthful representation, as well. Towards the end of the
19th century the gaucho was no longer a man with a bad reputation. On the one hand, his
contributions to the Argentinian independence had earned him respect among the population.
On the other hand, his image had been promoted positively by literature for decades. In Don
Segundo Sombra we can even find a reference to one of the most important and popular works
of the literatura gauchesca, Martín Fierro, which per se had turned the gaucho into a national
symbol. Although it is a fact that the historical gaucho was originally a disliked person, the
perception of the Argentinian herdsman had changed a great deal by the time Güiraldes’s novel
is set. Therefore, the novel’s representation of the gauchos as respectable members of the
society is not far-fetched, either. Nevertheless, according to Lockhart (cf. 1997: 404) an
idealized depiction of the gaucho’s life is absolutely to be found in the novel. Lockhart (1997:
404) argues that “Don Segundo Sombra presents a highly romanticized version of the gaucho
way of life, one that had disappeared by the time Güiraldes published his novel”. He goes on to
say that “it presents the positive aspects of the ranch hands’ work, while negating the very
destruction of the gaucho way of life brought about by the landed aristocracy to which Güiraldes
belonged”. From this perspective, the representation of the gauchos’ world in Don Segundo
Sombra does indeed appear idealized. In Güiraldes’s novel, which offers a nostalgic look at the
time the gaucho still existed, we experience an idyllic and peaceful world of the gauchos in
which they carry out their work contentedly and unimpeded. There are, however, no references
to the economic changes, such as the fencing of the Argentine land and the rise of modern
technology, which also took place at about the time the novel is set, and which had a
considerable impact on the life situation of the gauchos (cf. Gálvez 1990: 164; Slatta 1992: 6).
Instead, the pampa, for example, which in real life was becoming more and more inaccessible
for the gauchos due to its fencing, is associated with freedom and described as being large
(Güiraldes. Don Segundo Sombra 26, 85). We do not get the impression that the pampa in Don
Segundo Sombra is fenced or that the gauchos’ access to it is restricted. On the contrary, Fabio
refers to the gauchos as the owners of the pampa who do not consider it as foreign land.
Furthermore, we do not find any hints at technological advances or changes that might influence
the gauchos’ work. Life in Güiraldes’s novel is still fairly simple and does not appear to be
affected by technology. Thus, the novel does not seem to offer an historically accurate
representation of the gauchos’ situation in the late 19th century, since it omits the fact that the
gaucho way of life was threatened to come to an end by all the changes the aristocratic

66
landowners and the country’s elite brought along. Consequently, Lockhart’s view is easily
comprehensible, as it can indeed be said that Don Segundo Sombra does present a romanticized
and idealized version of the truth when it comes to the gaucho and his life.

As it is set towards the end of the 19th century Güiraldes’s novel sheds light on one particular
period of the gaucho’s existence, namely the last one before his disappearance from the
Argentinian soil (cf. 1990: 164). As previously mentioned, the economic changes in Argentina
had a great impact on the gauchos. According to Slatta (1992: 6) they “ended traditional gaucho
life”. Now, being forced to conform to these changes in his country, the gaucho was transformed
into a rural laborer in this final period of his existence and his main business became the driving
of cattle of hacendados alongside the pampa (cf. Gálvez 1990: 164-165). With respect to this,
it is important to mention that in Don Segundo Sombra gauchos are also frequently referred to
as paisanos, which translates into English as countrymen or peasants. In so doing, Güiraldes
treats these two groups as one and the same and demonstrates that the gauchos in his novel have
already turned into peasants. We can also experience the final stage of gaucho existence in
Güiraldes’s novel through the portrayal of Fabio, Don Segundo and their gaucho companions
as cattle drivers which was the main occupation of the gaucho in the period before he ceased to
exist (cf. Gálvez 1990: 164-165). In addition, they also work as farmhands and break horses,
which are typical tasks that represent the work of a peasant laborer. Thereby, the gauchos’ work
and existence in the novel seem to be limited, for the most part, to the duties they carry out for
the estancieros. Taking into consideration that the historic gaucho was originally not
necessarily dependent on the jobs provided by hacendados, as he was in the first place a hunter
and contrabandist who could survive on the Argentine prairies by himself, it is to be highlighted
that Güiraldes mainly represents his gauchos as employees who live from being hired by
estancia owners. Some of them are independent and occasionally look for jobs, such as Don
Segundo and Fabio, while others seem to stay and work at the estancias more permanently.
Nonetheless, all of them represent the gaucho in his stage of development as a rural worker. It
is also worth mentioning that the only way for Güiraldes’s paisanos to feel like free gauchos
and to leave their farmhand lives behind them seem to be the cattle drives and round-ups. In the
following quote Fabio describes the transformation of his gaucho companions from farmhands
into cattle drivers: “Todos me parecían más grandes, más robustos [...] De peones de estancia
habían pasado a ser hombres de pampa. Tenían alma de reseros, que es tener alma de horizonte.
Sus ropas no eran las del día anterior; más rústica, más práctica [...]” (They all appeared taller
to me, stronger […] the peasants from the ranch had become men of the pampa. They had souls
of cattle drivers, which means having souls of the horizon. Their clothes were not the same ones
67
from yesterday; coarser, handier […])13 (Güiraldes. Don Segundo Sombra 21). Here Fabio
perceives the transformed cattle drivers as being taller and stronger than they were as peasants.
He even refers to them as men of the pampa who have souls of the horizon. However, we do
not only notice the disappearing of the gaucho tradition and existence in Don Segundo Sombra
by observing the gauchos’ work, but also by focusing on the main characters, Don Segundo and
Fabio. Throughout the novel Don Segundo is referred to as a phantom, a shadow and rather an
idea of a person than an actual being (cf. Lockhart 1997: 404). According to Gálvez (cf. 1990:
164) Don Segundo is an abstraction and symbol that serves as a nostalgic memory of the gaucho
and his lifestyle who had already ceased to exist at the time the novel was written. In fact, his
shadowy nature, indicated also by his surname Sombra, which is translated into English as
shadow, can be understood to represent the fading of the gaucho existence (cf. Gálvez 1990:
164). Don Segundo is regarded the ideal gaucho which in real life was already becoming extinct
towards the end of the 19th century. Hence, by making him appear as a shadow or phantom
Güiraldes uses Don Segundo to portray the ending of gaucho existence in his novel. We can
also observe this at the end of the story when the old gaucho is gradually vanishing from Fabio’s
sight after bidding good bye to his protégé. Here Fabio describes his padrino as a silhouette and
as rather being a figure of imagination than an actual man. Consequently, we can interpret Don
Segundo’s disappearance in the vastness of the pampa as the final disappearance of the
historical gaucho. As far as Fabio is concerned, he also symbolizes the fading of the gaucho
tradition and existence. His transformation from a gaucho into an hacendado at the end of the
novel can be compared to the situation of the gauchos in real life. To be sure, Fabio’s fate is not
the norm and gauchos rarely climbed the social ladder that easily and became estancia owners.
Nevertheless, his forced transition from a free, independent gaucho to a settled estanciero and
countryman comes close to what the historic gaucho was confronted with in the last few decades
of his existence. Just like Fabio, the real gauchos were deprived of their lives in freedom and
lost their status as rulers of the pampa. Instead, affected by the economic changes that came
about in their home country and which they had no control over, they had to become peasant
laborers whose freedom and independence were restricted and who maybe even got bound to
estancias as farmhands. Consequently, in Don Segundo Sombra we can find several hints at the
disappearance of the gaucho, either by focusing on the profession of Güiraldes’s herdsmen, or
by examining the representation of Fabio and Don Segundo in more detail.

13
This translation from Spanish into English has been provided by the author of this thesis.
68
To conclude, in Don Segundo Sombra we receive vast amounts of information about the gaucho
and his life. We do not only gain insight into his work, but also his leisure activities, and learn
about his qualities, characteristics, ideologies and the animals he works with. In general, after
reading Güiraldes’s novel one might feel as though they know everything about the gauchos.
Although the information about the Argentinian herdsman we are provided with is rather
detailed and appears to reflect reality, it is important to point out that the representation of the
gauchos in the novel is partly idealized and romanticized and deals with the gaucho at a certain
period of his existence. First, the depiction of the gaucho we are offered in Don Segundo
Sombra concerns the gauchos at the end of the 19th century, a time when the gaucho was already
ceasing to exist and was only still active as a rural worker. In fact, in the novel the reader is
given several hints at the disappearance of the gaucho, on the one hand, through the work
Güiraldes’s gauchos carry out, and on the other hand, through the main protagonists who
symbolize the fading of the gaucho tradition. Then, although the disappearance of the gaucho
becomes a relevant issue in Don Segundo Sombra, there are no references to reasons for these
changes. In Güiraldes’s novel the gauchos’ existence is not threatened by any economic
changes, despite the fact that these changes were very present in real life at the end of the 19 th
century and had a considerable impact on the future of the gauchos. Consequently, we can find
a major idealization of the truth in Don Segundo Sombra and the gaucho as we perceive him
appears as a romanticized, almost legendary being.

5.2. Masculinity in Don Segundo Sombra

One topic that deserves attention in Don Segundo Sombra and that is worth examining is gaucho
masculinity. In fact, in the novel we gain insight into the masculine principles and concepts of
the gauchos. In addition, Güiraldes sheds light on other aspects related to manliness, as well. In
this chapter not only the masculine principles and ideals of the gauchos as represented in the
novel will be outlined, but also an analysis as to what extent Fabio meets the requirements set
for a masculine appearance, behavior and attitude by the gauchos is provided. Furthermore, I
am going to examine how the gauchos claim their masculine identity and what helps them to
feel manly. Finally, my analysis in this chapter will deal with the relationship between Fabio
and Don Segundo and Don Segundo’s influence on the adolescent as a male role model.

Taking into consideration typical characteristics of the gauchos one attribute that is ascribed to
them and that probably comes to everyone’s mind when thinking of them is their masculine
appearance. Kaminsky (2008: 56) points out that even nowadays “the gaucho remains a potent
69
symbol of Latin American masculinity”. Likewise, in Don Segundo Sombra the expression of
manliness and the following of certain masculine ideals undoubtedly plays an important role in
the world of the gauchos. One principal concept illustrated in Güiraldes’s novel is that being a
gaucho equals being masculine. This idea is conveyed to the reader by Fabio who regards the
gauchos as real men, and maybe even as the ideal representatives of manliness. It can be said
that at the beginning of the novel the 14-year-old, who is at the age of puberty, is in search of a
suitable masculine identity. Growing up without a father and lacking a male role model in his
life he seems to be looking for a way to attain manhood. When he comes across Don Segundo
and decides to follow him, Fabio is not only about to become a gaucho, he also enters a world
in which he can become a man. For example, soon after his work as a cattle driver begins Fabio
mentions that he is filled with pride to carry out one of the most masculine jobs: “Había
empezado mi trabajo y con él un gran orgullo: orgullo de dar cumplimiento al más macho de
los oficios.” (I had begun my work and with it I felt proud: proud to be carrying out the most
masculine of the professions)14 (Güiraldes. Don Segundo Sombra 21). This statement
demonstrates that Fabio has found a way to live and express his masculinity by becoming a
gaucho. It is this world of men that he wants to fit in, however he initially struggles to do so.
Focusing on the representation of gaucho masculinity in Don Segundo Sombra it becomes clear
that Güiraldes’s gauchos are ascribed stereotypical characteristics which are commonly
associated with a rather traditional concept of manliness. In general, they are portrayed as brave,
strong, fearless and tough men who do not shy away from dangers or obstacles. They spend
most of their time among men and keep women out of their business and their lives.
Furthermore, they appear rather hardened, and regard the expression of emotions as a weakness
(cf. Doub 2010: 24). Now, at the beginning of his career as a gaucho Fabio does not really fulfill
all the masculine ideals of his fellows. He is brave and ambitious, but he lacks endurance and
toughness, which seem to be indicators of masculine appearance in the novel. In connection
with these two qualities, endurance and toughness, one concept that is commonly associated
with maleness and that is also mentioned in the novel is the idea of the ley del fuerte, in English
the law of the strongest. According to this law, which is explained to us by Fabio, only the
strongest survive in the pampa while the weak do not have any chance (cf. Güiraldes. Don
Segundo Sombra 99). Fabio initially struggles to deal with the demanding conditions of working
as a gaucho and frequently complains to the reader about his physical pain and worries.
Although he tries to hide his aches and pains from the other gauchos and intends to appear
tough, they still notice that he is struggling to endure the new circumstances that the trade of

14
This translation from Spanish into English has been provided by the author of this thesis.
70
the gaucho involves. Consequently, Fabio still has to learn to become tough, strong and
enduring if he wants to be considered a real man in the world of the gauchos. Furthermore,
Fabio is a rather emotional person. Although he usually hides his emotions from his
companions, since the overt expression of feelings is regarded as weak among the gauchos, the
reader experiences Fabio as a very emotional human being. In fact, Fabio relates all his feelings
and perceptions to the readers and is not ashamed of doing so. For example, we discover that
he is melancholic and sad about leaving behind Aurora and Paula. Furthermore, he expresses
his compassion for the injured and dead animals on the cattle drives and round up and feels bad
for them. It is also worth mentioning that Fabio is a pensive person who ponders on the events
in his life uncontrollably and intensively and that these ruminations are frequently rather
emotionally charged. At the end of the novel Fabio falls into an emotional turmoil after finding
out that he inherits his dead father’s estancia. Refusing to give up his gaucho life he feels sad,
angry, lonely and scared and this time he cannot hide his feelings from Don Segundo. Another
scene in which Fabio gets very emotional can be found in the last chapter of the novel when
Fabio bids farewell to Don Segundo. Here we find Fabio very sad and disappointed,
nevertheless he does not turn a hair and hides his feelings from his padrino again. Now, we
generally get the impression from the novel that expressing one’s feelings is taboo in the world
of the gauchos, which becomes clear when we focus on their remarks and behavior. For
instance, in the novel it is indicated several times that being emotional is associated with a
typically feminine behavior and therefore inacceptable, which will be dealt with in more detail
in the next paragraph. The question arises whether it is impossible for a gaucho to be manly and
emotional at the same time. Although Fabio also regards the displaying of emotions as a
weakness himself, which is a lesson he has probably learned from Don Segundo and the other
gauchos, he serves as the perfect counterevidence. Despite hiding his feelings from his
companions most of the time, he is very emotional in his character. He confronts the image of
the unemotional gaucho we receive through Don Segundo who never shows his feelings and
appears as the serious, tight-lipped and almost inaccessible gaucho prototype. For example, in
the farewell scene Don Segundo aims at making the situation appear as emotionless as possible
by only shaking hands with Fabio instead of hugging him. They have spent eight years together
without parting and now their farewell remains without any expression of emotions. In the same
scene Fabio would probably like to express his feelings, but he refuses to do so since sadness
is regarded cowardice among the gauchos (cf. Güiraldes. Don Segundo 111; cf. Doub 2010:
24). Nonetheless, because of his rather emotional nature that is perceived by the readers Fabio
proves that a gaucho does not have to appear as an unemotional, hardened person in order to be

71
manly. Furthermore, Fabio does not appear less a man in the novel because of openly expressing
his emotions when he finds out about his inheritance. He only believes that by displaying his
feelings he is not masculine and weak, which is an idea he has been made to believe by his
gaucho friends, who adhere to old-fashioned concepts of masculinity that regards showing
feelings as unmanly. In fact, it could be argued that Fabio is even stronger than the other
gauchos because he is emotional and displays his feelings, even if he only does the latter to a
small extent. In comparison with the other gauchos he at least voices his feelings to the reader
and does not conceal them and bottle them up. Another way in which Fabio does not really
come up to the masculine principles of his gaucho companions is his relation to women. On the
one hand his views of women match with the ones of the gauchos, which becomes clear when
we consider his derogatory and somewhat macho comments about the opposite sex. For
example, when being reminded of his aunts by an unfriendly female cook he tells the reader
that he does not understand what women are there for. He immediately responds to his own
question by saying that women’s main purpose is the amusement of men, but that unpleasant
women should be get rid of: “¿Pa qué servían las mujeres? Pa que se divirtieran los hombres.
¿Y las que salían fieras y gritonas? Pa la grasería seguramente [...]” (Güiraldes. Don Segundo
14) (What are women there for? For men to have fun. And what about those who are furious
and loudmouthed? To the grasería with them)15. On the other hand, however, he falls in love
with Aurora and Paula and despite not having relationships with them they mean more to him
than just random encounters. In the world of the gauchos, relationships with women are not
necessarily welcomed, since women are regarded as being troublemakers that can have a
negative impact on the gaucho community by causing fights among the herdsmen (cf. Doub
2010: 25). The only closer contact that Güiraldes’s gauchos maintain with women seems to be
of sexual nature, but in the novel none of them is in an actual romantic relationship with a
woman (cf. ibid.). After meeting Aurora Fabio cannot get her out of his head and is sad because
of leaving her behind. When it comes to Paula, he even gets into a fight with Numa over her
and it saddens him that he and Paula do not become a couple. It is worth mentioning that Fabio
could actually be together with Paula if he returned to her and asked her to be his girlfriend.
Since he regards asking a ‘scheming, ensnaring’ woman for her love, however, as a weakness,
he and Paula part ways (Güiraldes. Don Segundo 78). Fabio’s behavior when it comes to Aurora
and Paula show that he yearns for love and a romantic relationship with a woman. When he
finally says that he is left without love after leaving behind Paula we realize that he struggles
to be a gaucho devoid of romantic relationships. He learns that he wants somebody to love him,

15
This translation from Spanish into English has been provided by the author of this thesis.
72
an experience he has never had, since he is practically an orphan (cf. ibid.: 78). Nevertheless,
having a permanent relationship with a woman is not really an option for a gaucho. Despite
eventually choosing his gaucho life over Aurora and Paula, which might have him considered
a real man among the gauchos, he still seems to want a relationship with a woman.
Consequently, Fabio does not fulfill all the requirements of a typical masculine gaucho behavior
and attitude. He not only lacks endurance and toughness at the beginning of his gaucho career,
he is also emotional and does not necessarily keep women at distance. Nevertheless, it must be
pointed out that the fact that he does not fulfill these requirements does not make him appear
as less of a man. On the contrary, it makes him appear as a normal human being who has got
weaknesses and who does not give up his own ideals by sticking to fixed and predefined ideals
of a bigger group.

The gauchos in Güiraldes’s novel are generally depicted as utterly manly beings who seem to
be sure of their masculinity. Living according to their own masculine principles and firmly
abiding by them they have a fixed idea of what is manly and what is not. The questions of what
their sense of manliness is based on and how they are able to claim a masculine identity arise.
As far as identities are concerned, Ellis and Meyer (cf. 2009: 1) refer to Hegel’s “concept of
otherness” and explain that identities and the self are commonly formed by an awareness of
‘the other’. In other words, by focusing on groups they can compare themselves with and maybe
even compete against human beings find a way to define themselves. When it comes to gender
men and women have always tried to define themselves by making comparisons with their
respective counterpart. Liggins et al. (2000: 7) point out that „gender is defined and measured
in terms of difference”. However, the formation of an identity based on differences and the
otherness can also result in negative consequences for the opposite party. A misuse of this
identity formation can frequently be found among men who suppress and devaluate women in
order to claim superiority and dominance, and consequently a suitable masculine identity. They
regard women as the ‘other’ who serve as a means to enhance their masculinity. In Don Segundo
Sombra it also becomes obvious that the gauchos establish their masculine identity by viewing
women as ‘the other’ and by derogating and depreciating them. In so doing, they are able to
distinguish themselves and to appear as the superior sex. For example, at various points in the
novel it is indicated that women are too emotional and weak while men are considered brave
and tough. When Fabio tells the reader about his bad physical state during his first cattle drive
he says that he would have cried if he were a woman (cf. Güiraldes. Don Segundo Sombra 32).
At the end of the novel when Pedro Barrales delivers Fabio the letter and addresses him
formally, Fabio tells him that it is not good to screw up one’s face like the women do.
73
Thereupon, Don Segundo reprimands Fabio, tells him to read the letter and adds that Fabio will
not be that startled at the message in the letter since he is neither a woman nor a child (cf. ibid.:
103). In all these three remarks, which deal with women in a derogatory way, we undeniably
realize that Fabio and Don Segundo attempt to strengthen their masculine identities by making
women appear as the inferior sex. They suggest that women struggle to cope with the hard work
of the gaucho, that they cannot handle shocking news well and that they tend to get too
emotional. In contrast to this, men appear strong, brave and hardened. However, the fact that
they include these remarks on women in their conversations and the narration demonstrates that
they are, in fact, not so sure of their masculinity. Instead of being confident about their own
manliness they need something, or rather someone they can measure it against. It can be said
that were they sure of their masculinity they would not devaluate women to achieve the effect
of appearing masculine. Furthermore, the fact that they take advantage of women to secure their
masculine identity makes them, in fact, appear weak, which is the opposite of what they want
to accomplish with their behavior. In general, we find the gauchos’ derogatory attitude towards
women and their attempt at defining themselves as manly by devaluating the opposite sex
throughout the novel. Among Güiraldes’s gauchos, women are mainly regarded as
troublemakers and have a rather bad reputation. This becomes clear since they are usually
expelled from the world of the gauchos. As previously mentioned, they are believed to
complicate a gaucho’s life and destroy the gaucho community, which, is illustrated in the novel
by knife fights due to women (cf. Doub 2010: 25). For instance, the reason for Fabio’s injuring
of Numa is Paula and at the pulpería one man gets killed in a fight because of a woman.
Furthermore, women are, as Doub (ibid.) puts it, regarded “sources of temptation not to be
trusted”. At the ball, for example, Fabio describes the women as appearing seductive like ripe
fruit waiting to be picked (Güiraldes. Don Segundo Sombra 37). Having this view of women,
we realize again that the gauchos in Don Segundo Sombra aim at distinguishing themselves as
the better sex. Women are considered to be a threat to men while men have to protect themselves
from the troubles that women cause. In fact, women appear as a necessary evil according to the
gauchos’ ideology. Although they are believed to have a bad influence on the gauchos, the
herdsmen also cannot live without them and need the women, for example, to satisfy their
sexual needs. Thus, their position on women is contradictory. However, one certainty is that
they use women to claim a masculine identity that is based on a devaluation of the other sex. In
doing so, however, they do not attain the manly appearance they aim at, since they do not appear
so sure of their masculinity by needing another group to base it on. When it comes to the
gauchos’ establishing of a masculine identity, women are not the only group that helps them to

74
define themselves as manly. In fact, the animals they work with also appear as ‘the other’ and
seem to enable the gauchos to strengthen their sense of manliness. Of course, Güiraldes’s
gauchos are typical herdsmen who treat the horses and cattle appropriately and do not abuse
them. Furthermore, a certain harsh treatment of the animals is part of their job. Nevertheless,
their work with the animals also seems to provide them with a sense of power and superiority.
This becomes obvious in various scenes in the novel in which they drive the cattle over the
pampa, break horses and hunt cattle on the round-ups. In most of these scenes the expression
of dominance over the animals plays an important role and is vividly practiced. For example,
when it comes to horse breaking the gauchos bring themselves into the position of the
dominators of the animals and bring the horses to obey by whipping them. During the cattle
drives they force the animals to move along, and on the round-ups they deprive the cattle of
their freedom. Yelling with the animals and bringing them under their control, for instance, they
show them who the rulers are. Although it is never explicitly indicated in the novel that they
feel manlier by treating the horses and cattle like this and it is part of their profession, this
treatment of the animals seems to enable the gauchos to exercise power over a different group
and, thus, reinforces their masculine identity in a way.

Another important aspect concerning masculinity in the novel is the father-son-like relationship
between Fabio and Don Segundo. Focusing on the two of them it soon becomes clear that the
old gaucho is not only a figure of admiration for Fabio, but in fact, Don Segundo has a larger
meaning in Fabio’s life than that of a friend or acquaintance: he serves as a male role model for
Fabio, and even more as a father figure. At the beginning of the novel the 14-year-old does not
have anyone he can hold on to emotionally or from whom he receives love and affection. After
the death of his mother he grows up with his two aunts who treat him rather harshly and
complicate his life. In addition, as previously mentioned, Fabio does not know his father. He
only occasionally gets to meet a man called Don Fabio Cáceres in his childhood, who later turns
out to be his father, but they neither have a relationship, nor does he acknowledge Fabio as his
son up until his death. Consequently, Fabio does not only lack a male role model in his life, he
also lacks parental love. Don Segundo arrives in the opportune moment in Fabio’s life and
fulfills both roles, that of a father and that of a role model. Throughout the novel we can find
scenes which suggest a father-son relationship between Fabio and Don Segundo and which
make Don Segundo appear as a role model. For example, one very indicative scene takes place
during the first cattle drive that Fabio takes part in. After Fabio falls off his new horse while
trying to mount it Don Segundo finally shows him how to saddle the horse. While doing so he
seems to treat Fabio like a son whom he teaches something new and gives advice to, and Fabio
75
mentions that he fully trusts his padrino. A similar scene can be found later in the novel when
Don Segundo helps Fabio break horses. Furthermore, Don Segundo teaches Fabio lessons about
being a man and about women. For example, Fabio mentions that through Don Segundo he has
learned to distrust the opposite sex (cf. Güiraldes. Don Segundo Sombra 34; cf. Doub 2010:
25). This lesson, however, makes Fabio assume a derogatory attitude towards women and it can
be argued whether Don Segundo is a good male role model that should have influence on Fabio.
Although Fabio regards Don Segundo a father figure he never really shows his feelings about
it to his padrino up until the end of the novel when he openly addresses him by the word ‘father’.
This behavior results from the gauchos’ principle of not expressing one’s emotions overtly.
Nevertheless, taking into consideration Fabio’s admiration for Don Segundo and his wish to
stay with Don Segundo no matter what it becomes clear that Fabio is looking for a father-son
relationship with his padrino. When it comes to Don Segundo, the old gaucho never really
expresses his emotions either, and also does not do so when it comes to his relationship with
Fabio. Nonetheless, he seems to have fatherly feelings for his protégé. For example, he tells
Fabio that he wants to show him how to saddle his horse so that Fabio does not serve as a source
of amusement for the other gauchos anymore (cf. Güiraldes. Don Segundo Sombra 30). Here it
becomes obvious that Don Segundo feels something for Fabio as he seems to look after him
and care for him. Finally, at the end of the novel Fabio calls Don Segundo ‘father’. Don
Segundo accepts Fabio’s word choice and even reprimands him by referring to himself as his
father: “-Si soy tu Tata, le vah'a pedir disculpas a ese hombre que has agraviao.” (Güiraldes.
Don Segundo Sombra 104), which means in English ‘If I am your father, you apologize to the
man you have offended’16. Furthermore, Don Segundo’s readiness to stay at Fabio’s ranch for
three years demonstrates that Fabio is important to him. He does not leave Fabio behind and
helps him get accustomed to his new life as a landowner by living at the ranch, although he
temporarily has to give up his life as a free-roaming gaucho which means a lot to him. This
decision of Don Segundo can be viewed as something only a father does for his son. Fabio
finally finds out who his real father was by receiving the letter from Pedro Barrales,
nevertheless, he does not view the man he knows from his childhood as his father. In addition,
even though Galván becomes his legal guardian towards the end of the novel and could be
regarded a potential father figure for Fabio, as well, Don Segundo still seems to be the only
father figure Fabio has ever had.

16
This translation from Spanish into English has been provided by the author of this thesis
76
In conclusion, in Don Segundo Sombra we are provided with great insight into gaucho
masculinity. Güiraldes’s gauchos follow principles and ideals associated with a rather
traditional image of manliness, and are described as tough, brave and strong men who choose
their gaucho lives over women. Fabio, who is in search of a masculine identity, benefits from
his encounter with Don Segundo and is not only introduced to the world of the gauchos, but he
is also given the opportunity to become a man among the Argentinian herdsmen. However, he
struggles to reach all the requirements they set for a typical masculine gaucho attitude and
behavior. He does not only lack toughness and endurance, he is also rather emotional and
secretly wants a relationship with a woman. Nonetheless, despite not reaching these masculine
standards of the gauchos, he does not appear less a man, but can be viewed as a normal human
being with weaknesses. In addition, by being emotional Fabio proves that a gaucho does not
have to appear unemotional in order to claim a masculine appearance. Furthermore, in the novel
it also becomes clear that the gauchos claim a masculine identity by devaluating women. By
focusing on women’s weaknesses and regarding them as troublemakers and a potential threat
to their gaucho existence, they attempt to represent themselves as the superior and better sex.
Instead of being perceived as such, however, they appear weak since they take advantage of
another group to enhance their sense of manliness and achieve the exact opposite goal of what
they aim at. The same kind of behavior can also be found regarding the gauchos’ treatment of
the animals, which also seem to enable the herdsmen to express a certain superiority, and thus,
masculinity by having the horses and cattle under their control. Another important aspect in
Don Segundo Sombra, which does not deal with gaucho masculinity but is a very important
motif in the novel, is Fabio’s and Don Segundo’s father-son-like relationship. Fabio, who lacks
a male role model and a father figure, finds both of these roles in Don Segundo. However, Fabio
is not the only one who strives for this kind of relationship with Don Segundo, his padrino also
seems to develop fatherly feelings for his protégé. At the end of the novel the two of them
acknowledge each other as father and son.

5.3. Coming of Age: Reading Don Segundo Sombra as a Bildungsroman

Focusing on the plot, structure and characters in Don Segundo Sombra it becomes clear that
coming of age is an important aspect of the novel that is worth examining in more detail. Telling
the story of a young boy who leaves his home town and spends several years learning the trade
of the herdsman through a gaucho called Don Segundo before he finally returns home more
experienced and mature the novel serves as a perfect example of the Bildungsroman. In this

77
chapter I am going to examine the novel for all the elements and characteristics of the
Bildungsroman it comprises. Furthermore, I am going to demonstrate to what extent Don
Segundo Sombra follows the tradition of the classical European Bildungsroman and in which
ways the novel differs from the model.

Just like in the classical European Bildungsroman the Bildungsheld in Don Segundo Sombra is
subject to a so-called Bildungscurriculum. As mentioned in chapter 3, the Bildungscurriculum,
termed by Gutjahr (cf. 2007: 8), marks the protagonist’s development, who, after living under
certain conditions throughout his or her childhood and adolescence sets out on a journey that
leads to his or her maturity. Finally, he or she matures, as they obtain social integration and
self-discovery at the end of the novel. The first step in this course of formation and one of the
protagonist’s most important experiences is leaving behind their old life before embarking on
a journey. In Don Segundo Sombra our Bildungsheld is Fabio, a 14-year-old boy who lives
together with his two aunts in a small town in Argentina. His mother died, and he does not
know his father, which makes his two aunts the only family he has. However, they are very
strict and make life difficult for Fabio who is constantly reprimanded and blamed for things that
happen at home. He seeks his freedom by going on errands in town where he gradually becomes
very popular among the townspeople. Nevertheless, despite his popularity, he soon also grows
tired of his life as gossipmonger and jack-of-all-trades. The 14-year-old’s motivations to leave
his old life behind him are not only the struggles with his aunts and his boredom, but also his
encounter with Don Segundo whom Fabio is deeply fascinated with. Finding out that the
mysterious gaucho is looking for a job at Galván’s estancia, Fabio decides to leave his home
town in order to follow Don Segundo and become his helper and protégé. According to
Michelsen (cf. 1992: 822) Don Segundo is his chance to start a new life, a life in which he is
free and independent and can figure out who he really is.

Fabio begins his journey by stealing away from his aunts’ house and moving on alone to the
estancia of Galván where he wants to get a job and await the arrival of Don Segundo. Being
hired as a farm worker, Fabio initially gets to carry out rather lower-level tasks, such as
preparing maté and sweeping sheep manure. It is worth mentioning that he carries out the work
he is assigned very diligently hoping to appear as a grown man by doing so: “Hacía mi trabajo
con esmero, diciéndome que por él era como los hombres mayores” (Güiraldes. Don Segundo
Sombra 12) (I did my job diligently, telling myself that by doing it I was like the grown-up
men”)17. Although Fabio does not necessarily get to demonstrate skills and talents at the ranch,

17
This translation from Spanish into English has been provided by the author of this thesis.
78
since he is still inexperienced in the work of the herdsman, Galván’s estancia, nevertheless,
serves as a kind of first Bildungsstation for Fabio, as he receives his first impressions of the
world of the Argentinian herdsman and farm worker there. After Don Segundo’s arrival at the
ranch Fabio is introduced to parts of the work of the gaucho by watching him breaking Galván’s
feral horses. Only two weeks later the 14-year-old joins Don Segundo and some other men from
the estancia on their cattle-driving trip and takes up the profession of the cattle driver, which is
an important experience for our Bildungsheld since it adds to his maturity process and marks
an essential step that will influence his future life. Before setting out, however, Fabio meets a
girl called Aurora whom he grows fond of. Although they only meet twice and there is no actual
romantic relationship between them, he cannot get her out of his mind. Consequently, leaving
her behind because of the cattle drive appears to be a difficult situation and a trial for our
protagonist. According to Doub (cf. 2010: 3) trials related to love are common experiences of
the average Bildungsheld. It saddens Fabio not to see Aurora again since she obviously means
something to him. Nevertheless, his anticipation of the cattle drive appears to be greater than
his feelings for her. Furthermore, it does not seem to be an option for Fabio to choose Aurora
over the cattle drive, given the facts that the two of them hardly know each other, and that Fabio
wants to roam the pampa alongside Don Segundo. He decides to go on the cattle driving trip,
but still likes the idea of having a girl crying over his departure (Güiraldes. Don Segundo
Sombra 22).

This cattle drive that Fabio participates in is one of the protagonist’s most essential
Bildungsstationen. In fact, the entire time Fabio spends driving Galván’s herd of the 500 cattle
with Don Segundo and the others from the estancia across the pampa contributes immensely to
his formation as a herdsman and his coming of age. On this drive he learns important lessons
about being a gaucho, even though not all of them are pleasant. At the beginning of the trip
Fabio is confident and believes that he has got what it takes to become a good gaucho (cf. ibid.:
22). Despite his companions’ attempts at intimidating the 14-year-old, he remains calm and
optimistic about being able to cope with the work of the herdsmen. However, he soon realizes
that the life of the gaucho is not always easy and bears challenges, especially for a novice. For
example, trying to mount his newly acquired horse he is thrown off it and gets injured. In
general, Fabio is not used to the life of the cattle drivers and has difficulty adapting to the
conditions of his new job. Affected by the pain from his fall he struggles even more to endure
the heat, the long-lasting horse riding and the work itself. In the following quote from the text
Fabio describes the downside of cattle driving and refers to his discomfort and exhaustion:

79
 A las once tenía hinchadas las manos y las venas. Los pies me parecían dormidos. Dolíanme el hombro
y la cadera golpeados. Los novillos marchaban más pesadamente. [...] Tenía reseco el cuerpo como
carne de charque, y no pensaba sino en «tumbiar» y echarme [...]. (ibid.: 26)

At 11 o’clock my hands and veins were swelling. My feet felt like they had gone to sleep. My shoulder
and hip hurt like I had been beaten up. The young cattle were moving along heavily. […] My body was
dry like jerked meat, and all I could think about was lying down and taking a rest […] 18

Fabio’s self-confidence also seems to fade as he grows desperate and disappointed by himself
after being thrown off the horse and failing to help slaughter a mutton. He envisioned being a
gaucho very differently from what it is really like and now learns of the unpleasant aspects of
it. Consequently, he ponders on what he still has to learn in order to become a good gaucho:

Antes de andar haciéndome el «taita», tenía por cierto que aprender a carnear, enlazar, pialar, domar,
correr como la gente en el rodeo, hacer riendas, bozales y cabestros, lonjear, [...] y qué sé yo cuántas
cosas más. Desconsolado ante este programa, murmuré a título de máxima: «Una cosa es cantar solo y
otra cosa es con guitarra». (ibid.: 28)

19
Before becoming a taita I certainly had to learn how to slaughter, to lasso, to tame, to run like the
people in the roundups, to make reins, halters and cabestros20, to cut leather into strips […] and what do
I know how many more things. Inconsolable in the face of this program, I murmured the maxim: «It is
one thing to sing alone and another thing to sing with a guitar»21.

It is worth mentioning that in this quote Fabio refers to the list of skills he still needs to acquire
if he wants to be a gaucho as a learning program that he has to undergo. Thereby, it becomes
clear that he is not only aware of his learning process, but that he also reflects on it. Furthermore,
he demonstrates the desperation that he feels regarding this learning program. Wallowing in
self-pity, Fabio finally learns the probably most essential lesson when it comes to living the life
of a gaucho – he is told to become tougher by Don Segundo. Realizing that the trade of the
gaucho requires a certain toughness and perseverance, Fabio subsequently tries to hide his pain
from his companions and decides not to give up. At the end of this cattle drive Don Segundo
teaches Fabio how to saddle his new horse in the absence of the other cattle drivers, since Fabio
struggles to deal with their humiliating comments. With the help of Don Segundo, he finally
manages to tame the horse and can demonstrate his skills. As a result, he not only experiences
a sense of achievement, but is also praised and treated with respect by his other companions. It
can be said that Fabio’s first cattle-driving trip represents one relevant trial for our

18
This translation from Spanish into English has been provided by the author of this thesis.
19
= a man who masters an activity, usually in terms of urban folklore – use in Argentina (translation from
https://dle.rae.es/?id=YxN65oh) [2019, June 28]
20
= also a halter
21
This translation from Spanish into English has been provided by the author of this thesis.
80
Bildungsheld. As such it is a trial related to work, since Fabio is gradually being introduced to
the trade of the gaucho and learns what it means to be a cattle driver. Throughout this trip he
can figure out whether he really wants to be a herdsman and whether he has got what it takes
to become one. He finally draws the conclusion that he needs to get out of his comfort zone and
become tougher if he wants to be like the other gauchos.

After a leap in time of five years we find Fabio’s next essential places of formation on several
cattle drives and Argentinian estancias. Still roaming the pampa alongside Don Segundo, he
has meanwhile become a more experienced and skilled young gaucho who has become
accustomed to living the life of a herdsman. Nevertheless, his formation is not over yet, since
he still has to learn important lessons. Don Segundo undoubtedly assumes a fundamental
function when it comes to Fabio’s formation as a gaucho, namely that of the boy’s mentor.
According to Jacobs and Krause, who are quoted by Gutjahr (cf. 2007: 46), the guidance
through a mentor is a common experience of the average Bildungsheld and, thus, marks a
relevant characteristic of the Bildungsroman. Don Segundo, who readily accepts the role as
Fabio’s guide and instructor, teaches the adolescent everything he needs to know in order to
become a good herdsman. In the following quote Fabio tells the reader what he has learned
from Don Segundo over the past five years and how he himself has become a man of the pampa:

Él fue quien me guió pacientemente hacia todos los conocimientos de hombre de pampa. Él me enseñó
los saberes del resero, las artimañas del domador, el manejo del lazo y las boleadoras, la difícil ciencia
de formar un buen caballo para el aparte y las pechadas, el entablar una tropilla y hacerla parar a mano
en el campo, hasta poder agarrar los animales dónde y cómo quisiera. (ibid.: 34).

It was him who patiently guided me towards all the knowledge of the gaucho. He taught me the
knowledge of the cattle driver, the tricks of the horse-breaker, the handling of the lasso and the
boleadoras, the difficult science of training a good horse, how to drive a herd and make it stop in the
pasture, and how to catch the animals wherever and in what way I wanted. 22

Apart from the extension of his professional skills, Fabio has also grown tougher and more
steadfast through the guidance of his padrino, qualities that prove necessary and helpful when
it comes to his overall formation and maturity process as the Bildungsheld. In general, Don
Segundo does not only serve as Fabio’s teacher when it comes to the profession of the
herdsman, but Fabio also learns important lessons about life through the old gaucho. For
example, among other lessons, Don Segundo has taught the young gaucho to accept the
unchangeable, to be leery of women and alcohol, and to trust in friends (cf. ibid.: 34). In the

22
This translation from Spanish into English has been provided by the author of this thesis.
81
following chapters of the novel Fabio now gains insight into the remaining facets of the life of
the gaucho, which, of course, he is introduced to by Don Segundo. These aspects of gaucho
life, however, do not only concern the gaucho’s profession, but also his leisure activities and
amusements. For example, in addition to all the lessons about work and life Don Segundo has
taught Fabio to play the guitar and how to dance, which are typical skills of a gaucho outside
of work. Furthermore, the old gaucho takes Fabio to a cockfight where the now 19-year-old
bets on the fighting animals, an experience that the adolescent loves to reminisce about in
retrospect. They also attend an auction where Fabio buys himself a new horse with the money
he won from the cockfight. Later in the novel the two of them bet on a horse race and Fabio
loses most of his money and five horses. Although these events do not necessarily add to Fabio’s
professional formation as a gaucho, they, nevertheless, play an important role when it comes to
his coming of age. Doub (cf. 2010: 23) comments that Fabio’s trials help him temper his youth
and prepare him for something bigger at the end of the novel. Even though these experiences
are not necessarily trials, it can be said that they allow the adolescent to enjoy his youth and to
make mistakes that he can learn from. For instance, after the horse race Fabio probably realizes
that he still needs to learn to handle money and to be careful when it comes to betting. As it is
typical of Bildungsromane, all these experiences, whether they are positive or negative,
contribute to Fabio’s maturity process.

At one of the estancias, the 19-year-old finally gets to carry out the work of a gaucho without
the help of his padrino and has the chance to demonstrate his already acquired skills.
Participating in a round-up of wild cattle he joins a group of two other adolescents of the same
age with whom he is supposed to catch wild cows and bulls in the dune landscape by the sea
and drive them to the ranch. This round-up does not only represent an important Bildungsstation
for our Bildungsheld, but also a trial he faces in which he needs to show whether he is already
an experienced gaucho that does not need assistance from Don Segundo anymore. Together the
three boys hunt the feral cattle and herd them together, just like the other groups of more
experienced gauchos that also take part in the round-up. Although the three of them fail at their
first attempts at hunting the wild animals, Fabio does a good job and appears to be well-versed
in the profession of the herdsman. He knows how to round up cattle and, in the end, carries out
the task satisfactorily. Then, however, trying to catch an escaping bull his horse gets injured.
When seeing the bull again, Fabio, mad with anger, decides to take revenge on the wild animal
and confronts it. In this confrontation the young gaucho manages to kill the bull, but gets
severely injured himself. Although Fabio initially seems to handle the round-up very well
without the help of his mentor and appears to prove that he is already a well-experienced
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gaucho, this act of revenge on the bull and the fact that he placed himself in unnecessary danger,
however, demonstrate his immaturity and make the reader doubt the adolescent’s mastering of
the profession. Consequently, Fabio does not appear ready to work as a gaucho without Don
Segundo at his side yet. After the incident with the bull Fabio is taken to the estancia where he
is supposed to recover from his injuries. There he meets Paula, one of the girls at the ranch and
Patrocinio’s sister, and he soon grows fond of her. Gradually recovering he tries to win her
over. However, there is also another young man called Numa at the rancho who is interested in
Paula. One day, Fabio unintentionally gets into a fight with Numa and injures him with his
knife in an act of self-defense, whereupon Paula is disappointed by Fabio and loses all interest
in him, even though Fabio was not the one who started the fight. After leaving the estancia,
which he regards a necessity after the fight, Fabio is sad and melancholic and views the whole
incident as an injustice of fate. While riding off, he even considers returning and asking Paula
for her love, an idea he turns down, however, since he regards it a weakness. Although he was
not in a relationship with Paula and they did not share any romantic or erotic adventures, she
means something to him and therefore plays a considerable role for his formation, as well. It is
important to mention that it is not necessarily a trial that Fabio faces here, even though trials
related to love are common in the world of the Bildungsheld according to Doub (cf. 2010: 3).
Instead, it is a negative experience our protagonist needs to deal with and which adds up to his
maturity process. The only thing we can interpret as a trial is his thought about returning to
Paula which would make him fight for their love. Finally, however, by considering this move
a weakness and an inconformity with the gaucho way of life he opts against a love relationship,
although he also makes it clear to the reader that he is without love and looking for someone to
love him. In the end Fabio decides to continue his life as a herdsman by going to see Don
Segundo and demonstrates once again that his life as a gaucho means more to him than a
romantic relationship.

Afterwards, Fabio carries out the duties of a gaucho again. Reuniting with Don Segundo he
continues roaming the pampa with his padrino and looking for occasional jobs as a cattle driver
and farm hand. The two of them are finally offered jobs as horse breakers at a young man’s
estancia. Here we can observe Fabio being rather self-confident since he immediately accepts
the estanciero’s offer despite mentioning to the reader that it is his first attempt at breaking
horses. He justifies his decision by telling us that he is strong and has confidence in himself.
Furthermore, he explains that he has already passed his first tests as a herdsman, which, from
his perspective, qualifies him for this new task. In general, Fabio has grown in self-confidence
over the past five years. When he started his career as a gaucho he was rather insecure, doubted
83
himself and worried about his progress. Now he trusts himself to take on fresh challenges, such
as breaking the horses or going on a round-up without hesitating or being worried about his
skills. In fact, by rising to these new challenges he becomes even more self-confident and settled
in the trade of the gaucho. Managing to break the horses, for example, he mentions that by
carrying out this gaucho duty successfully he is filled with self-confidence (Güiraldes. Don
Segundo Sombra 95). Fabio’s maturing as a gaucho is also recognizable in his last cattle drive.
Throughout the drive, the 19-year-old does not seem to let himself get bothered or scared by
the work that easily anymore. Instead, he appears to be a brave and focused cattle driver who
keeps a stiff upper lip and does not necessarily grow desperate in the face of new obstacles, for
example when he and his companions face adverse weather conditions through which they need
to drive a herd of 600 cattle. Although Fabio does complain about the difficult situation to the
reader, he remains calm and appears to perform the task brilliantly. At the beginning of the
novel Fabio complained a lot about the hard and demanding lifestyle of the gauchos and lacked
endurance, as well as toughness. Now he seems to have become accustomed to the work of the
herdsman and has got out of his comfort zone. Furthermore, he seems to have become tougher.
However, before considering Fabio a full gaucho we must not forget that he is still dependent
on his padrino. Ever since his formation as a herdsman Fabio has been at Don Segundo’s side
and has performed all the gaucho tasks with the help of his mentor, except for the round-up.
While describing the horse breaking, for example, in which he also receives assistance from his
padrino, Fabio refers to himself as an instrument in the hands of Don Segundo. He goes on to
say that he accepts Don Segundo’s commands as facts, that he follows his mentor’s voice like
his own and that he even cannot stop thinking about the teachings in his periods of rest (cf.
ibid.: 95). Fabio is not independent yet and still needs his padrino’s instructions. Nevertheless,
he is aware of his passivity in this working relationship and makes clear that he anticipates his
independence as a fully trained gaucho and that he is confident about his future: “Sentía mi
pasividad y me hubiese molestado, de no haberme dicho mi propio deseo de independencia:
«Dejá no más, que al correr del tiempo todo eso será tuyo».” (I felt my passivity and I would
have been upset, if I had not said to myself my wish of being independent: «Let it go, over time
all of that will be yours»)23 (ibid.: 95). Consequently, one can say that Fabio has become more
self-confident and tougher as he has grown into the gaucho role. However, he still needs to
learn to be an independent gaucho who shifts for himself, a development that Fabio will not
undergo anymore in the novel.

23
This translation from Spanish into English has been provided by the author of this thesis.
84
The final and most important trial for Fabio can be found at the end of the novel. After his last
cattle drive, he receives a letter in which he is informed about his father’s death. Being the son
of the rich man Don Fabio Cáceres, whom he knows from his childhood, he is supposed to
inherit his father’s estancia. This message leaves the adolescent shocked, scared and angry. He
does not want to give up his life as a gaucho in order to be an estanciero whose existence is
bound and limited to his properties. Being in fear for his freedom and gaucho life he turns to
Don Segundo who calms him down and consents to accompany his protégé to Galván’s
estancia, who is now Fabio’s legal guardian. On his way there, Fabio is sad because he does
not want to leave his gaucho life behind him. Preferring being poor as a gaucho to the wealth
that is expecting him he plans to disclaim his inheritance as soon as he arrives in his home town.
When he finally bids farewell to his former cattle driving companions he feels like he is bidding
farewell to himself and soon after arriving at the estancia he feels like he has stopped being a
gaucho (cf. Güiraldes. Don Segundo Sombra 105). Despite Fabio’s initial determination not to
change his lifestyle we find him as an estancia owner who has become accustomed to his new
life after a leap in time of three years in the last chapter. Deciding between keeping his gaucho
life and starting a new life as a rich landowner represents a major trial for our Bildungsheld. Up
to now he has always chosen being a gaucho over other things, such as his family and love
relationships. Nothing has restrained him from roaming the pampa alongside Don Segundo.
This time, however, he opts for ending his career as a gaucho and becomes a wealthy man,
which contradicts everything he wanted for his life. At this point, it could be said that Fabio
gives up his life as a free and independent gaucho, as well as his ideals for money and
possessions. Even if this was true, it is, nevertheless, important to point out that Fabio does not
necessarily seem to be satisfied and happy as an estanciero. He mentions to the reader, for
example, that in his first two years as a landowner he kept a vivid wild instinct and continued
showing peculiarities of his former gaucho existence: “Conservaba yo muy vívido un instinto
salvaje, que me hacía tender cama afuera y escapar de todo encierro. También continué
levantándome al alba y acostándome a la caída del sol, como las gallinas.” (ibid.: 110) (I kept
a vivid wild instinct, which made me sleep outside and escape from the isolation. I also
continued to stand up at daybreak and to go to bed at sunset, like the hens) 24. Furthermore, he
appears to regret his decision, which becomes obvious when he says that he would still be a
gaucho if he had followed his feelings back then when he decided to become a landowner.
Fabio also explains that the principal reason for him to accept the inheritance was Don
Segundo’s consent to stay at the ranch (cf. ibid.: 110). Now that his padrino is leaving the

24
This translation from Spanish into English has been provided by the author of this thesis.
85
estancia and continues to roam the pampa Fabio gets to live in a world he does not want to be
in. He is indeed getting used to his new life, but he does not necessarily appear happy to the
reader. Nonetheless, Fabio has not entirely given up his gaucho existence. For instance, he
keeps breaking horses with Raucho, Galván’s son and his best friend, and describes their
friendship as being gaucholike (cf. ibid.: 110). Thus, he keeps being a gaucho, even if he does
not carry out the respective profession anymore.

A typical characteristic of the Bildungsroman, that can also be found in Don Segundo Sombra,
are the protagonist’s reflections on himself or herself and his or her development and
experiences. Fabio is a very reflective character who spends a lot of time pondering his life, his
decisions and fate. He is frequently lost in thought, especially while roaming the pampa. For
example, at the beginning of the novel he ruminates on his decision to leave Aurora behind. He
also cannot stop worrying about whether he will be a good gaucho and about what he still needs
to learn in order to become one (cf. Güiraldes. Don Segundo Sombra 22-23). Later, after
experiencing the knife fight between the two gauchos at the tavern, for instance, he considers
death and fate and the readiness of human beings to kill (cf. ibid.: 99). Most importantly, his
reflections, however, also help him to get clear about his experiences and life, which becomes
obvious in the scene in which he looks back at his entire life while talking to Raucho, his best
friend at the end of the novel. Here Fabio says that for the first time he thinks about the episodes
of his existence in detail (cf. ibid.: 109). In connection with Fabio’s reflections it is also
important to mention that the novel can be divided into three parts which represent three stages
of Fabio’s life and that we find retrospections at the beginning of each of these. These
retrospections help Fabio give the reader a summary of his progress (cf. Michelsen 1992: 821-
822).

As far as the ending of the novel is concerned, Don Segundo Sombra generally follows the
tradition of the European Bildungsroman. By accepting his inheritance Fabio leaves his gaucho
life behind him and starts a new life as an estancia owner. In doing so, he integrates into society,
which is the final goal the average protagonist in the Bildungsroman is supposed to achieve. In
fact, the now 22-year-old represents the ideal Bildungsheld according to the European model.
He initially leaves his origins and family behind him in order to set out on a journey. This
journey lasts for five years and provides Fabio with numerous lessons and experiences. Having
undergone his formation and maturity process he finally returns to his former home town where
he becomes a full member of the society. All the experiences he has gathered and the lessons
he has learned throughout his five years of formation now have an influence on his new life.

86
According to Doub (2010: 23) the skills he has learned as a gaucho, such as “to toughen up”
and “to control himself physically and emotionally”, are also relevant for his new role as a
leader. It is, however, worth mentioning that Fabio’s integration into society appears forced. He
is convinced to accept his inheritance by Galván and Don Segundo although he initially refuses
to give up his freedom and to become a rich man and estancia owner. After his padrino finally
leaves his protégé’s newly acquired estancia we find Fabio rather disillusioned and unhappy
with his decision, which shows that he does not really want this new life and situation.
Furthermore, Doub (2010: 3-4) mentions that the hero’s integration into society “symbolizes
his maturity and acceptance of social norms”. Although Fabio becomes a well-respected
landowner in the end and accepts most of the new social norms his position entails, he still
seems to push against them, which we find out, for example, when he says that being a
legitimate son and bearing a name which indicates a rank and a family represent a restriction of
freedom for him (cf. Güiraldes. Don Segundo Sombra 107-108). Furthermore, in the first two
years after taking over the estancia he frequently slept outside of the house and did not regard
it as his residence of choice (cf. ibid.: 110). To some extent Fabio still seems to need to figure
out how to find “a means to negotiate a balance between the self and society” (Doub 2010: 6-
7). Although he now has a lifestyle that is socially acceptable, which was not really the case
when he was a gaucho, he seems to be happier if he could still roam the pampa alongside Don
Segundo. Even though he integrates into society, which is the aim of the Bildung process, he is
not happy about this change in his life. When it comes to the other designated goal of the
Bildungsheld in the Bildungsroman, namely self-discovery, Fabio struggles to find his role and
identity. Although he is a rich, highly esteemed landowner now, he still feels like a gaucho
inside and still clings to his former life as a herdsman. At the same time, he gradually becomes
accustomed to his new life after three years and does not appear entirely averse to it. In general,
it seems like he has not found out for himself who or what he really is. Of course, he now knows
who his father was and has an official identity. Nevertheless, we must not forget that he spent
five years considering himself a gaucho and now finds himself in a new position with a new
identity. According to Michelsen (cf. 1992: 822) at the beginning of the novel Fabio wants to
become the person he really is. Hence, he is looking for an identity that fits him and manages
to find it throughout the time he spends as a gaucho. However, he finds himself facing the same
quest again when he becomes a landowner. Consequently, although Fabio integrates into
society, he does not necessarily do so willingly. Furthermore, he does not achieve self-discovery
at the end of the novel. Therefore, it can be said that the ending of Güiraldes’s novel deviates
from the traditional European Bildungsroman model.

87
In conclusion, Don Segundo Sombra almost entirely fulfills the requirements of the European
Bildungsroman. The book tells the story of a young boy who leaves his home town and
gradually matures throughout the novel. Undergoing the Bildungscurriculum Fabio, the
protagonist and Bildungsheld, goes on a journey on which he learns to become a gaucho under
the guidance of his mentor Don Segundo, an old gaucho he admires and follows everywhere he
goes. Spending five years roaming the pampa and working as a gaucho Fabio learns important
lessons and gathers experiences which do not only relate to the profession of the herdsman, but
also life. Finally, at the end of the novel Fabio returns to his home town where he becomes a
rich landowner and integrates into society. Throughout his formation the protagonist passes
through several Bildungsstationen and faces various trials which prepare him for his future life.
His maturing can mainly be observed in terms of him becoming more self-confident and
tougher. Nevertheless, it must be highlighted that the protagonist does not become an
independent gaucho at the end of his formation, since he still needs Don Segundo at his side.
At the end of the novel, however, we can find deviations from the European Bildungsroman
model. Although Fabio integrates into society by accepting his inheritance and becoming a man
of social status, he does not seem to want this lifestyle. He regrets having made the decision to
give up his gaucho life and does not necessarily feel comfortable with his new position and the
social norms it entails. He continues being a landowner, but the reader does not experience him
as being a happy person. Furthermore, he does not obtain self-discovery, as he is again in search
of a suitable identity after giving up his gaucho existence.

88
Conclusion

One essential part of my analysis in this diploma thesis focused on the representations of the
cowboy and the gaucho in All the Pretty Horses and Don Segundo Sombra. Although both
novels provide the reader with images of the respective herdsmen, they do not do so to the same
extent. I discovered that Güiraldes offers great insight into the gaucho tradition, culture and
lifestyle by incorporating actual gauchos into his novel’s plot, while McCarthy’s representation
of the cowboys is limited to the information we receive about John Grady Cole and his friends
who imitate the cowboys. This results from the fact that the cowboys had largely disappeared
from the North American prairies at the time McCarthy’s novel is set. The protagonists in All
the Pretty Horses want to live the cowboy life, but they are unable to detect the cowboy tradition
in Texas anymore. Heading south into Mexico they hope to encounter something comparable
to the Wild West there and, finally, end up becoming vaqueros, which are the Mexican
equivalent to the cowboys. Consequently, in McCarthy’s novel the cowboy’s representation
takes a backseat and is partly replaced by that of the vaquero. Nevertheless, the cowboy in All
the Pretty Horses is not the only herdsman whose existence is fading and who is gradually
disappearing from the plains. The gauchos in Don Segundo Sombra are also represented in their
last stage of existence, namely as cattle drivers and farmhands. Thus, both novels look at the
two herdsmen at a relatively late period of their existence. In addition, it could be said that while
McCarthy seems to attempt to revive the cowboy tradition in his novel, Güiraldes appears to
bid farewell to the gaucho tradition with his work. Another important point that was raised with
respect to the representation of the cowboy and the gaucho in the two novels concerns the
literary idealization of the two herdsmen. The question arose as to what extent McCarthy’s
cowboys and Güiraldes’s gauchos appear as idealized and romanticized beings. At a first
glance, it seems like the two novels offer truthful depictions of the herdsmen that abstain from
literary idealization. In both All the Pretty Horses and Don Segundo Sombra we experience the
cowboys, or rather vaqueros, and the gauchos as hard-working, down-to-earth people who drive
cattle, hold round-ups and break horses. Contrary to the idealized images of the herdsmen in
literature and popular culture which make them appear heroic and honorable McCarthy and
Güiraldes represent their cowboys and gauchos as simple herdsmen who live for their
profession. Nevertheless, as far as All the Pretty Horses is concerned there are indeed notions
of heroism and literary idealization to be found in the novel according to Owens (cf. 2000: 66).
Owens argues that John Grady Cole and his friends are so-called ‘American Adam’ heroes, a
term coined by R.W.B. Lewis, whom Owens refers to in his book. McCarthy’s novel even
employs a villain, the police captain, which is a typical characteristic of the Western novel and
89
part of the romanticized cowboy world. Interestingly, the Natives in All the Pretty Horses are
not represented as villains, but instead as rather peaceful people. Furthermore, a literary
idealization of the gaucho way of life is also to be found in Don Segundo Sombra according to
Lockhart (1997: 404). Lockhart explains that the novel, being set at the end of the 19th century,
does not offer a truthful representation of the Argentinian herdsman. According to Lockhart
Don Segundo Sombra does not reflect the economic changes that led to the disappearance of
the gaucho and that were going on at the time the novel is set. Instead, Güiraldes just depicts
the gauchos as living peacefully and enjoying their herdsman existence without many
restrictions. Consequently, both novels provide the readers with idealized representations of the
cowboy and gaucho, respectively.

Another important aspect which was analyzed in this diploma thesis concerns the cowboy’s and
the gaucho’s masculinity as depicted in All the Pretty Horses and Don Segundo Sombra. It is
important to mention that most of the masculine images of the cowboy and gaucho we are
provided with are represented with reference to the novels’ protagonists. However, while in All
the Pretty Horses we gain insight into the masculine world of the cowboys by merely observing
John Grady Cole and his friends, who are not really cowboys, in Don Segundo Sombra the
gauchos’ masculine image is not only conveyed to the reader through Fabio, but also through
his actual gaucho companions and Don Segundo. Therefore, Güiraldes’s work offers us a more
accurate depiction of the American herdsman’s masculinity. Nevertheless, what can be found
in both novels is the protagonists’ quest for a masculine identity. John Grady Cole and his
friends, as well as Fabio are young boys and adolescents who are in search of something that
enables them to establish a masculine identity, which is the herdsman in both novels.
Throughout their journey into Mexico John Grady Cole, Rawlins and Blevins try to define
themselves as manly by emulating the mythic cowboy figure and in Mexico they hold on to the
vaquero to gain a sense of manliness. They also find other ways to make themselves feel manly,
but the cowboy is their main source of manliness. Likewise, Fabio also manages to establish a
masculine identity by becoming a gaucho. It is worth mentioning that John Grady Cole’s and
Rawlins’s quest for a masculine identity results from their feeling of being emasculated in their
Texan home town due to women’s emancipation in the United States. In contrast, Fabio does
not necessarily have a reason for his quest. He is just at an age in which he feels a need to define
himself as manly. Although the protagonists in both novels find ways to become men by
emulating and living like the herdsmen, they also struggle and fail to do so. John Grady and his
friends cannot claim a masculine identity based on the mythic cowboy, since the mythic cowboy
does not really exist. They finally manage to feel manly by living the lives of vaqueros, but are
90
soon deprived of this lifestyle, which makes them continue their quest for a suitable masculine
identity. As far as Fabio is concerned, he does not fulfill all the requirements set for a masculine
behavior by the gauchos. However, despite not meeting all the masculine standards of the
American herdsmen, the protagonists demonstrate that certain deviations from masculine
concepts do not imply that somebody is less a man. Furthermore, in both Güiraldes’s and
McCarthy’s works we find that strength is not always strength and that weaknesses can be
strengths too. For example, Fabio is an emotional person and refuses to express his feelings
openly since it is regarded an unmanly behavior amongst the gauchos. One time, however, he
cannot retain his feelings and displays his emotions. This scene demonstrates that something
which is seen as a weakness (in the world of men) can, however, also be a strength, since Fabio
does not bottle up his feelings like the other gauchos and, thus, appears stronger. As far as the
establishing of masculine identities is concerned, in both All the Pretty Horses and Don
Segundo Sombra identity is formed based on other groups. When it comes to men’s identity
formation in Güiraldes’s and McCarthy’s works, women play an important role. For example,
in All the Pretty Horses the protagonists leave their home town since women there are
continuously getting liberated and independent from men. Arriving in Mexico, they find a world
where men still exercise superiority and dominance over women and, thus, claim a masculine
identity by suppressing women as a different group. Likewise, in Don Segundo Sombra women
are represented as ‘the other’ and Güiraldes’ gauchos enhance their sense of manliness by
derogating the opposite sex. When it comes to the cowboys in All the Pretty Horses, however,
we do not find any devaluating behavior or attitude towards women, except for some derogatory
remarks on women from Rawlins, which, however, do not represent the cowboys’ common
view of the opposite sex. What we find in both novels, however, is the cowboys’ and gauchos’
formation of a masculine identity by treating their animals like the ‘other’. Furthermore, in
Güiraldes’s and McCarthy’s works we can also encounter other relevant topics and issues
concerning masculinity, for example, Fabio’s and Don Segundo’s father-son-like relationship,
the expression of macho masculinity in Mexico, objectification of men and men’s propensity
to violent behavior. During my research I found that while there is a lot of investigation done
on cowboy masculinity, gaucho masculinity is a field that has not yet gained much attention.
Since the gaucho, however, is considered a symbol of manliness there should be more research
conducted on his masculine principles, ideologies and concepts. This applies to the literary, as
well as to the historic gaucho.

Another focus on All the Pretty Horses and Don Segundo Sombra in this thesis was related to
coming of age and implied reading the two novels as Bildungsromane. In fact, the two
91
protagonists’ coming of age and formation play a central role in both novels. Furthermore, both
novels share the common structure and classification of the European Bildungsroman model
which is regarded the original and classical concept of the Bildungsroman originating in late
18th century Germany. Correspondingly to this concept both novels employ so-called
Bildungshelden, which in McCarthy’s and Güiraldes’s works are John Grady Cole and Fabio.
As Bildungshelden they need to meet the requirements of a certain course of formation, which
is also referred to as Bildungscurriculum by Gutjahr (cf. 2007: 8). In general, both protagonists
meet these requirements which qualify a novel as a Bildungsroman. They are adolescents who
want to escape their lives and the (social) restrictions and norms in their home towns. John
Grady Cole’s principal motivations to set out are the selling of his grandfather’s ranch and the
social changes as far as the existence of the cowboy in the Texas of the 1940s is concerned. In
contrast, Fabio leaves his old life behind him because he cannot stand living with his two
unloving aunts anymore, because he grows tired of his life in his town and because of his
admiration for the old, mysterious gaucho Don Segundo whom he decides to follow.
Subsequently, both protagonists embark on journeys that are supposed to prepare them for their
future lives and lead them to maturity by teaching them important lessons and enabling them to
gather experiences. Throughout their maturity processes both protagonists learn lessons at
different Bildungsstationen and gather experiences, for example, concerning love and the work
of the herdsman. However, although they both acquire the necessary skills of the cowboy and
gaucho, respectively, their experiences with respect to love vary. While John Grady Cole is in
a romantic, secret relationship with Alejandra and even has erotic adventures with her, which
is an important characteristic of the Bildungsroman, as well, Fabio struggles to be together with
Aurora or Paula. As it is an essential part of the Bildungsheld’s formation, both John Grady
Cole and Fabio are also faced with disappointments, struggles and conflicts. It is, however,
worth mentioning that their negative experiences have a different impact on the two
adolescents: while Fabio holds his ground and does not grow desperate, John Grady’s
experiences leave him embittered and upset at the end of the novel. Nevertheless, it can be
argued that John Grady’s experiences are more violent and dramatic than Fabio’s as, for
instance, John Grady kills a boy in the prison and is left conscience-stricken. The duration of
their journeys greatly differs in the two novels. Fabio spends five years acquiring the skills of
the herdsman and learning lessons about life while John Grady’s formation only takes a few
months. With respect to this it could be said that McCarthy and Güiraldes have different
understandings of how much time the Bildungsheld needs to reach maturity. Like in the
classical Bildungsroman their journeys finally end and both protagonists return to their home

92
towns. There, they are expected to integrate into society and achieve self-recovery. However,
although most of the two novels’ contents correspond to the concept of the European
Bildungsroman, there are major deviations from the model at the end of both novels. In All the
Pretty Horses the protagonist does not integrate into society since he cannot come to terms with
the social changes in his home state, Texas, he does however achieve self-discovery to some
extent. In contrast, in Don Segundo Sombra the Bildungsheld integrates into society, but does
so unwillingly, and does not achieve self-discovery. Consequently, both novels deviate from
the European tradition. This demonstrates, to a certain extent, that the American
Bildungsroman, which in this framework includes the North American and the South American
Bildungsromane, has developed its own form and does not conform to the strict guidelines of
the European model anymore. In the original European model, the integration and self-
discovery of the protagonist into society were a crucial part of the Bildungsroman, since it was
an essential goal to be achieved for a young man to find a place in European society in the 18th
century. The American Bildungsroman, however, appears to delve into the topics of social
integration, the requirements set by society and self-discovery from a different point of view.
In fact, both novels make the original European model of the Bildungsroman and its focus on
society appear antiquated and outdated and offer a different perspective on the genre.

In conclusion, it becomes obvious that the similarities with respect to the portrayal of the
cowboys and gauchos in the two novels outweigh the differences. Both novels share various
features, ideas and content-related characteristics with respect to their depiction of the
herdsman, masculinity and coming of age.

93
Bibliography

Primary Works:

McCarthy, Cormac (2010). All the Pretty Horses: 1 (Border Trilogy) [1992]. Pan Macmillan.
Kindle eBook file.

Güiraldes, Ricardo (2014). Don Segundo Sombra [1926]. Libros Móviles. Kindle eBook file.

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